title: Enhancing resourcefulness to improve outcomes in family caregivers and persons with Alzheimer's disease: a pilot randomized trial.
abstract: This pilot randomized trial tested an intervention aimed at enhancing resourcefulness in family caregivers of persons with dementia, postulating that caregivers' emotional outcomes (anxiety and depression) and role outcomes (reward, strain, mutuality, and preparedness) would be improved, and problem behaviors in the care recipients (persons with dementia) would be reduced as a result of the intervention. Subjects were stratified by race (white or African American) and by baseline resourcefulness (high or low). Family caregivers were randomly assigned to an intervention group in which subjects attended six resourcefulness training sessions, meeting for 2 hours weekly over 6 weeks, or to a control group that received no treatment. Small to medium effects were shown for the intervention program on resourcefulness, anxiety, and preparedness of the caregivers and on frequency of behavior problems in the care recipients. Caregivers in the intervention group reported significantly more resourcefulness skills, with a medium effect at week 6 and a small effect 12 weeks later, compared with the control group. Persons with dementia had fewer behavior problems in the intervention group compared with control, although the difference was not significant. Caregivers' anxiety was reduced in the intervention group at 12 weeks.
authors.affiliation: Doctoral Nursing Program, Division of Graduate Nursing, College of Nursing and Health Professions, Drexel University, 245 N. 15th Street, MS 1030, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192, USA.
authors.forename: Elizabeth W
authors.initials: EW
authors.lastname: Gonzalez
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Drexel University School of Public Health, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.
authors.forename: Marcia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Polansky
authors.affiliation: Memory Disorder Clinic, Department of Neurology, Drexel University College of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA 19102-1192, USA.
authors.forename: Carol F
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Lippa
authors.affiliation: Center for Innovative Care in Aging, Department of Community-Public Health, Johns Hopkins School of Nursing, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
authors.forename: Laura N
authors.initials: LN
authors.lastname: Gitlin
authors.affiliation: Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106-7123, USA.
authors.forename: Jaclene A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Zauszniewski