Communication skills for family caregivers of persons with dementia

Research performed by The Oregon Center for Applied Science

Funded by the National Institute on Aging

Scientist(s): Blair Irvine, PhD, Natasha Beauchamp, MSc
Scientist link(s) take you to The Oregon Center for Applied Science Web site.

Caring for a relative with dementia is hard work. In fact, people who conduct stress research often study this population because family dementia care is so demanding. Family caregivers suffer from depression at rates far greater than do those who are not caregiving. Focus group research by the Oregon Center for Applied Science, Inc., revealed a universal need for family caregivers to reduce frustration by improving their ability to communicate with the person who has dementia.

Family Caregiver's Guide to Dementia/Alzheimer’s is a multimedia CD-ROM program that has users select from one of four stages of memory loss and tailors recommendations on the basis of the care receiver’s level of dementia. Caregivers are then shown videos demonstrating ways to most effectively deal with the irrational and emotional outbursts of the person they care for.

Users of the program are also shown video dramatizations of ways to improve communication, including the use of "redirection techniques" so they can prevent/manage outbursts. Stress management techniques for the caregiver are presented in video testimonials of family caregivers who describe their successful strategies for handling anger, sadness, and guilt. To promote behavior change for better caregiver health and well being, caregiving viewers are also encouraged to select strategies they would like to use in the next two weeks. These selections appear in a summary printout they receive upon exiting the program.

The focus of this program was on female, nonspousal caregivers. Sixty-three African-American, Hispanic, and Caucasian daughters, sisters, nieces, granddaughters, and female friends participated in the evaluation study. Fifty-five percent of these family caregivers were employed outside the home. Participants answered a questionnaire before watching the Family Caregiver’s Guide to Dementia/Alzheimer’s and then answered the same set of questions immediately afterward.

After watching the program, the family caregivers reported a significant improvement in their confidence and intention to use good communication skills as well as stress management strategies to ease the burden for themselves. The impact of the program was so strong that the National Institute on Aging funded development of an expanded Internet version covering more than just communication skills: Multimedia support for family caregivers of persons with dementia.