Training family care givers of people with dementia to think in a more clinical manner decreased depression and the sense of burden
QUESTION: Does training family care givers of individuals with dementia to view their role in a more clinical manner reduce adverse events associated with care giving?
Design
Randomised (allocation not concealed), blinded {outcome assessor}*, controlled trial with follow up 3 months after the intervention.
Setting
Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA.
Participants
117 family care giver – care receiver dyads, which consisted of primary informal care givers (mean age 77 y, 56% men; 94% were spouses or parents) of relatives with dementia that had not progressed beyond stage 7b of the Functional Assessment Staging (mean age 65 y, 70% women) who were living in community settings (ie, not nursing homes). 94 dyads (80%) were included in the analysis.
Intervention
72 care givers accompanied by ≥1 family member were allocated to the intervention and given group training in 7 weekly, 2 hour workshops based on a stress and coping theoretical model, by a multidisciplinary …
