title: Family caregiver support groups: spiritual reflections' impact on stress management.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Caregiving for people with neurodegenerative disease (e.g. Alzheimer's disease (AD); frontotemporal dementia (FTD)) is provided primarily by the family care system. Caregiving is taxing and much of the caregiving research is guided by a stress/adaptation theoretical perspective. Within this theoretical model, the role of spirituality in rendering meaning to the caregiver role remains unexplored. We conducted a qualitative analysis of expressions of spirituality and its meaningfulness during the caregiving journey within the context of an online video conferencing support group intervention program.
  
  
  METHODS
  Eighteen AD and six FTD caregivers participated in the Caring for Others evidence-based program consisting of 10 weekly virtual online support group sessions facilitated by experienced gerontological social workers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Content analysis of the video-recorded group interactions yielded recurrent themes of caregivers' spiritual reflections and their associations with managing caregiver stress responses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The findings inform professional observations of the importance of spiritual beliefs in understanding how caregivers ascribe both positive and negative meanings to critical life events and their management.
authors.affiliation: a School of Social Work , University of Windsor , Windsor , ON , Canada.
authors.forename: Thecla
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Damianakis
authors.affiliation: b Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition , University of Guelph , Guelph , ON , Canada.
authors.forename: Kimberley
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: c Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work , University of Toronto , Toronto , ON , Canada.
authors.forename: Elsa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Marziali
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000451:nursing*; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D057180:Frontotemporal Dementia / Q000451:nursing*; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012657:Self-Help Groups; D029181:Spirituality; D013315:Stress, Psychological / Q000628:therapy*; D017216:Telemedicine / Q000379:methods*
keywords: Caregiving; E-health; dementia; meaning making; spirituality