scholarly journals Surviving and Thriving: Qualitative Results from a Multi-Year, Multidimensional Intervention to Promote Well-Being among Caregivers of Adults with Dementia

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (9) ◽  
pp. 4755
Author(s):  
Meara H. Faw ◽  
India Luxton ◽  
Jennifer E. Cross ◽  
Deana Davalos
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Relationship Building ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Multiple Dimensions ◽  
Personal Dignity ◽  
Engagement Interventions ◽  
Phenomenological Perspective ◽  
Arts Engagement

(1) Introduction: Caring for an adult with dementia is both challenging and rewarding. Research indicates that community-based, social support, and/or arts engagement interventions can play a key role in ameliorating the negative outcomes associated with caregiving while enhancing its more positive attributes. This study explores the psychosocial outcomes experienced by dementia caregivers who participated in a multi-year, multidimensional intervention aimed at promoting caregiver and care recipient well-being. This intervention included bringing caregivers and people with Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias (ADRD) to local symphony performances, hosting a social reception prior to the performance, and assessing the outcomes of participation for both caregiver and the care recipient. (2) Materials, Methods, and Analysis: Qualitative data from participant phone interviews (n = 55) as well as focus groups are analyzed using thematic analysis from a phenomenological perspective. (3) Results: Across three years of participation, caregivers reported three main program benefits: relationship building (both with other participants as well as within the broader community); restored humanity (experiencing a greater sense of personal dignity and momentary return to normalcy), and positivity (experiencing positive emotions during the program). (4) Discussion: These findings point to the value of creating caregiver programming that brings together multiple dimensions of successful interventions in order to enhance caregiver experiences and positive intervention outcomes.

Helping caregivers of persons with dementia: which interventions work and how large are their effects?

2006 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-595 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin Pinquart ◽  
Silvia Sörensen
Keyword(s):  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Subjective Well Being ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Domain Specific ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Multicomponent Interventions

Background: In recent years, many different forms of interventions for caregivers of people with dementia have been developed. However, their results have been, in part, inconclusive.Methods: Meta-analysis was used to integrate the results of 127 intervention studies with dementia caregivers published or presented between 1982 and 2005.Results: Interventions had, on average, significant but small effects on burden, depression, subjective well-being, ability/knowledge and symptoms of care recipient. Only multicomponent interventions reduced the risk for institu-tionalization. Psychoeducational interventions that require active participation of caregivers had the broadest effects. Effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy, support, counseling, daycare, training of care recipient, and multicomponent interventions were domain specific. The effect sizes varied by study chara-cteristics, such as caregiver gender and year of publication.Conclusions: Because most interventions have domain-specific outcomes, clinicians must tailor interventions according to the specific needs of the individual caregivers. Although more recent interventions showed stronger effects, there is room for further improvements in interventions.

How family dementia caregivers perceive benefits of a 4-week MIT mindfulness and guided imagery program: a pilot study

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis Yang ◽  
Joseph Zamaria ◽  
Stefana Morgan ◽  
Eric Lin ◽  
Andrew F. Leuchter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Pilot Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Active Components ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Self Compassion

BackgroundFamily caregivers of patients with dementia experience high levels of interpersonal stress that often results in elevated anxiety, depression and negative impacts on social networks. Changes in behaviors and the structure of relationships with the care recipient (CR) and others in the social milieu challenge the caregivers’ ability to mentalize, or understand the links between mental states and behaviors. This study investigates the perceived benefits for family dementia caregivers of Mentalizing Imagery Therapy (MIT), which aims to improve balanced mentalizing of both self and others and reduce psychological symptoms. Methods11 family members who identified as the primary caregiver of a relative with dementia underwent a 4-week pilot trial of MIT and completed semi-structured interviews post-intervention to identify subjective benefits, putative psychological mediators and perceived active components. ResultsCaregivers reported improvements in general well-being, mood, anxiety, and sleep, and a majority stated the intervention helped with forming and maintaining healthier relationships. Some participants noted benefits extending to how they reacted to their social environment and perceived themselves more objectively from others’ perspectives. Specific elements of the intervention, including self-compassion, self-care, and the ability to reflect on emotionally arousing challenges, might have mediated these improvements. The combination of instructor, meditations, homework, group sessions, and educational sessions was well received by participants.ConclusionOur results show that family dementia caregivers described perceived salutary benefits of MIT on multiple domains of well-being. The self reports suggest MIT holds promise for reducing non-mentalizing patterns of thought, and facilitating improvements in balanced mentalization within the caregivers’ relationships. These results should be further extended in larger samples.

Moving through predeath grief: Psychological support for family caregivers of people with dementia

Dementia ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (7-8) ◽  
pp. 2474-2493 ◽  
Author(s):  
Franziska Meichsner ◽  
Stefanie Köhler ◽  
Gabriele Wilz
Keyword(s):  
Qualitative Content Analysis ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Physical And Mental Health ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Loss And Grief ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Mental Health Interventions

When caring for a family member with dementia, continuous losses and predeath grief can adversely affect the caregivers’ physical and mental health. Interventions for caregivers should therefore also aim at coping with loss and managing predeath grief. It was the objective of the present study to describe sources of grief caregivers report during therapy and to investigate how therapists can support caregivers. Two caregivers who participated in a randomized controlled trial were selected for this case study. Both caregivers received an intervention based on the principles of cognitive-behavioral therapy with grief-focused content that consisted of 12 sessions within six months. Three therapy sessions per participant were transcribed, coded, and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Results illustrate that both caregivers experienced a loss of companionship with their respective care recipient and ambiguous loss that resulted in intense grief that they found difficult to manage. Therapists responded by supporting the caregivers to acknowledge their losses and identify individual ways to cope with and accept loss and grief. Both caregivers reported higher well-being and an increased ability to manage their grief-related emotions after the therapy ended. The identified intervention strategies fit well into a theoretical framework for grief interventions for dementia caregivers, i.e. the dementia grief model.

Qualitative study on needs and wishes of early-stage dementia caregivers: the paradox between needing and accepting help

2015 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 927-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lizzy M. M. Boots ◽  
Claire A. G. Wolfs ◽  
Frans R. J. Verhey ◽  
Gertrudis I. J. M. Kempen ◽  
Marjolein E. de Vugt
Keyword(s):  
Early Stage ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Therapeutic Interventions ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Positive Interaction ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Personal Time ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
Retrospective View ◽  
Group Interviews

ABSTRACTBackground:Early individualized interventions for informal dementia caregivers can prevent overburdening in the later stages. However, the needs of early-stage dementia caregivers (EDC) remain largely unknown. This study aimed to explore the needs and wishes and need for care of EDC to maximize the benefit of potential programs for EDC and tailor interventions accordingly.Methods:Four focus group interviews with 28 informal caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) were analyzed using inductive content analysis. Both EDC and caregivers in the later stages were included to compare perceived EDC needs from different points in the caregiver career.Results:Four themes were identified: the early-stage needs paradox, barriers in acceptance, facilitators in acceptance, and a transition from loss to adaptation. The retrospective view provided by later-stage caregivers differed from the view of EDC; EDC struggled with acknowledging needs due to fear of stigma and low acceptance. EDC stressed the importance of acceptance as a prerequisite for adequate adaptation, but were hindered by lack of knowledge, difficulty acknowledging changes, and focus on loss. In contrast, better understanding of the disease, increasing personal time, structuring ones day, and using appropriate humor can reduce negative communication, increase positive encounters and caregiver-confidence, contributing to positive interaction with the care recipient and an increase in well-being.Conclusions:Early therapeutic interventions could help caregivers identify their needs, increase knowledge about changes in roles and relationship reciprocity, and focus on enhancement of the positive, intact experiences to prevent caregiver burden.

scholarly journals Different Statistical Approaches to Develop a Guideline for Improvement of Caregiver’s Mental Health

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 858-859
Author(s):  
Amanda Leggett ◽  
Hyun Jung Koo
Keyword(s):  
Mental Health ◽  
Decision Rules ◽  
Regression Tree ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
National Study ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Emotional Difficulty ◽  
Caregiver Mental Health ◽  
Tree Models

Abstract Caregiver burden is common, and improvement of caregivers’ mental health could lead to better quality of care and well-being for both caregivers and care recipients. We investigate ways to develop a guideline to enhance caregiver’s mental well-being by applying and comparing regression tree and ensemble tree models. Data comes from the 2017 National Health and Aging Trends Study and National Study of Caregiving. Dementia caregivers’ (n=945) aspects of caregiving, care activities, support environment, and participation along with basic demographics and health are considered. First, insignificant predictors are preselected using linear regression with backward selection, which will not be included in the tree models. Using the predetermined predictors that are not excluded in the backward selection method, regression tree and ensemble tree models are generated to predict emotional difficulty of caregivers. The regression tree with the preselected predictors predicts caregivers with low to moderate levels of overload and high levels of joy being with their care recipient associated with the lowest level of emotional difficulty. On the other hand, if caregivers have high levels of overload and low to moderately high levels of positive affect, this is linked with the highest level of emotional difficulty. Ensemble tree models showed similar results with lower error measures. Using tree-based methods can help determine the most important predictors of caregiver mental health. Easily interpretable results with applicable decision rules can provide a guideline for intervention developers.

scholarly journals Stress, Burden, and Well-Being in Dementia and Nondementia Caregivers: Insights From the Caregiving Transitions Study

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Orla C Sheehan ◽  
William E Haley ◽  
Virginia J Howard ◽  
Jin Huang ◽  
J David Rhodes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Racial Differences ◽  
Behavioral Problems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Population Based ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Dementia Caregivers ◽  
Age In Place ◽  
More Care ◽  
Regards Study ◽  
Stress Burden

Abstract Background and Objectives Few population-based studies have directly compared caregivers of persons with dementia to caregivers of persons with other disabilities (nondementia caregivers). We enrolled dementia and nondementia caregivers who were providing substantial and sustained care and compared these groups on measures of caregiver stressors, appraisals of burden, and well-being. Research Design and Methods Caregivers (N = 251) who provided continuous care for at least 1 year and at least 5 h per week were recruited from the population-based REasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke (REGARDS) study. Caregivers reported on dementia caregiving status, stressors, burden, and well-being. Results Forty-seven percent (n = 117) reported caring for a person with dementia. Dementia caregivers reported more stressors, providing more care for self-care and behavioral problems than nondementia caregivers. Dementia caregivers also reported higher appraisals of stress and burden, and more depressive symptoms, but did not differ from nondementia caregivers on mental and physical health quality of life. In multivariable-adjusted models, adjustment for the total number of care recipient problems attenuated differences between dementia and nondementia caregivers on burden and depression measures. Discussion and Implications Dementia and nondementia caregivers showed relatively few differences in indicators of overall well-being in this population-based sample, perhaps because both groups of caregivers in this study were providing substantial care. Dementia caregivers may require special assistance with dementia-specific problems such as behavioral problems. Clinical interventions and policy changes targeting highly burdened caregivers are needed to support them in allowing their care recipients to age in place at home.

Differences in the Way to Conceive Happiness Relate to Different Reactions to Negative Events

2018 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 27-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giulia Fuochi ◽  
Chiara A. Veneziani ◽  
Alberto Voci
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Satisfaction With Life ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Protective Role ◽  
Stressful Events ◽  
Interactive Effects ◽  
Negative Events ◽  
Orientations To Happiness ◽  
Specific Reactions ◽  
The Way

Abstract. This paper aimed to assess whether differences in the way to conceive happiness, measured by the Orientations to Happiness measure, were associated with specific reactions to negative events. We hypothesized that among orientations to pleasure (portraying hedonism), to meaning (representing a eudaimonic approach to life), and to engagement (derived from the experience of flow), orientation to meaning would have displayed a stronger protective role against recent negative and potentially stressful events. After providing a validation of the Italian version of the Orientations to Happiness measure (Study 1), we performed regression analyses of the three orientations on positive and negative emotions linked to a self-relevant negative event (Study 2), and moderation analyses assessing the interactive effects of orientations to happiness and stressful events on well-being indicators (Study 3). Our findings supported the hypotheses. In Study 2, meaning was associated with positive emotions characterized by a lower activation (contentment and interest) compared to the positive emotions associated with pleasure (amusement, eagerness, and happiness). In Study 3, only meaning buffered the effect of recent potentially stressful events on satisfaction with life and positive affect. Results suggest that orientation to meaning might help individuals to better react to negative events.

Mentoring to Promote Professional Well-being

Relay Journal ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 306-318
Author(s):  
Hatice Karaaslan
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Research Experience ◽  
Reflective Dialogue ◽  
Frequent Contact ◽  
Depth Analysis ◽  
Junior Colleague ◽  
One Year ◽  
Personal Reflections

This article elaborates on a follow-up mentoring session conducted with a junior colleague who had frequent contact with me over a period of one year during her coursework as she considered me a senior instructor with substantial research experience. The purpose was to exploit the strategies of advising in a mentoring context utilizing intentional reflective dialogue (IRD) to encourage reflection on professional well-being. To facilitate the process and achieve an in-depth analysis of her level of professional well-being, I employed Seligman’s (2011) PERMA model, explaining professional well-being with reference to its components of positive emotions, engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment. In the article, I briefly give information on the context and background, the purpose, and the professional well-being model used. I then outline the flow of the session, and point out and discuss how the strategies of advising have been exploited through a series of IRD exchanges in an effort to stimulate an in-depth discussion. Finally, I present my personal reflections as well as the potential implications to be considered while conducting mentor-mentee sessions and improving professional well-being in educational settings.

Positive Emotions

2009 ◽  
pp. 12-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Cohn ◽  
Barbara L. Fredrickson
Keyword(s):  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Life Outcomes ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Future Success ◽  
Broaden And Build Theory ◽  
Mental And Physical Health ◽  
Very High ◽  
Future Growth

Positive emotions include pleasant or desirable situational responses, ranging from interest and contentment to love and joy, but are distinct from pleasurable sensation and undifferentiated positive affect. These emotions are markers of people's overall well-being or happiness, but they also enhance future growth and success. This has been demonstrated in work, school, relationships, mental and physical health, and longevity. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions suggests that all positive emotions lead to broadened repertoires of thoughts and actions and that broadening helps build resources that contribute to future success. Unlike negative emotions, which are adapted to provide a rapid response to a focal threat, positive emotions occur in safe or controllable situations and lead more diffusely to seeking new resources or consolidating gains. These resources outlast the temporary emotional state and contribute to later success and survival. This chapter discusses the nature of positive emotions both as evolutionary adaptations to build resources and as appraisals of a situation as desirable or rich in resources. We discuss the methodological challenges of evoking positive emotions for study both in the lab and in the field and issues in observing both short-term (“broaden”) and long-term (“build”) effects. We then review the evidence that positive emotions broaden perception, attention, motivation, reasoning, and social cognition and ways in which these may be linked to positive emotions' effects on important life outcomes. We also discuss and contextualize evidence that positive emotions may be detrimental at very high levels or in certain situations. We close by discussing ways in which positive emotions theory can be harnessed by both basic and applied positive psychology research.

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