Effects of an adapted leisure education program as a means of support for caregivers of people with dementia

Abstract

The loss of autonomy associated with dementia affects the people with dementia themselves as well as their caregivers who are often left feeling powerless and incompetent in their caregiving role. Most of the programs developed to support caregivers focus on burden and do not consider the positive aspects of caregiving. Leisure represents a way to enhance the presence of positive aspects in the caring experience. Moreover, leisure might contribute to the maintenance of satisfactory relationships between the caregivers and the person with dementia. An adapted leisure education program was developed as a means of support to caregiver involvement. This study ( n = 49) aims to evaluate the impact of this program on caregivers’ well-being, self-efficacy towards adapted leisure, and quality of the relationship with the care receiver. Mixed methods were used. Pretest–posttest with a follow-up design made up the quantitative part. In addition, open-end interviews ( n = 10) were conducted. The quantitative results showed few impacts of the program on caregivers. However, the qualitative analysis revealed that the intervention had positive impacts for the caregivers, care receivers and other family members. This study introduces caregiver support in a new, positive perspective by focusing on the positive aspects of caregiving rather than the burden.