Psychosocial Interventions For Caregivers Research Articles

Financial hardships and psychosocial outcomes among parents of children who die of cancer.

Caregivers experience financial hardship during a child's cancer treatment and after their child's death. These bereaved caregivers also experience negative psychosocial outcomes following the death of a child, but the relationship between financial hardship and negative psychosocial outcomes is poorly understood in this population. We surveyed self-selected bereaved caregivers as part of a publicly posted survey through Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation in order to explore family experiences after losing a child to cancer. The survey contained questions regarding parent psychosocial and financial outcomes following their child's death. One-hundred seventy-six caregivers completed the survey a median of 7years after their child's death. The majority were female (91%), non-Hispanic White (97%), and married or living with a domestic partner (76%). Overall, 31% of caregivers reported that their child's death significantly impacted the financial well-being of their family, 23% experienced a decrease in income following their child's death, and 14% were still paying medical expenses. Financial hardship that the caregiver attributed to the child's death was associated with feeling lonely and isolated (adjusted relative risk [ARR]=1.7, 95% CI: 1.1-2.7) and living day to day (ARR = 1.8, 95% CI: 1.3-2.5), even after adjustment for household income and time since child's death. Caregivers experience multiple financial hardships following the death of a child to cancer, which endure for years after the child's death. These hardships are associated with negative psychosocial outcomes, demonstrating the need for both financial and psychosocial interventions for caregivers following the death of a child to cancer.

Caring for the Family Caregiver: Development of a Caregiver Clinic at a Cancer Hospital as Standard of Care.

Family caregivers make significant contributions to the overall care of cancer patients and are the “invisible backbone” of the health care system. Family caregivers experience a wide range of challenges and can be considered patients in their own right, requiring support and dedicated attention, which may benefit them, the patients they are caring for, and the health care system. Despite consistent evidence on caregiver distress and unmet needs, most cancer care is organized around the patient as the target of care and caregiver distress is not screened for or addressed systematically. This article describes the development of a novel clinical, educational, and research program dedicated to supporting family caregivers at the Princess Margaret Cancer Center, Toronto, Canada and presents a model for a brief psychosocial intervention for caregivers. The objective of this article is to assist others in developing services to address the needs of family caregivers as a standard of care.

Long-Term Mental Health and Quality of Life Outcomes of Neonatal Insults in Kilifi, Kenya

We examined the mental health and quality of life (QoL) outcomes and their correlates of school-aged survivors of neonatal jaundice (NNJ), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and a comparison group. The Child Behavior Checklist and the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory were administered to assess the mental health and QoL of 375 children (134 with NNJ, 107 with HIE, and 134 comparison group) aged 6 to 12 years [Median age 9 (interquartile range 7 to 11)]. The results showed that survivors of NNJ and HIE have mental health problems and QoL similar to the comparison group. Maternal mental health was the predominant covariate of mental health and QoL in survivors of NNJ and HIE. This result could indicate that mothers with mental health problems are more likely to have children with mental health issues, but also that caring for children with these adversities may affect mental health well-being of the caregivers. There is a need for early mental health screening and psychosocial intervention for caregivers and their children to enhance both their mental health and QoL.

Efficacy of Short-Term Inpatient Rehabilitation for Dementia Patients and Caregivers: Prospective Cohort Study

Background/Aims: The efficacy of nonpharmacological and multicomponent treatments in patients with dementia is under discussion, as is the ongoing debate which endpoints best measure efficacy. Methods: 194 dyads of dementia patients and their proxies interested in a combined short-term inpatient rehabilitative treatment were assessed in the patients' homes. Results: Analysis showed that cognition in male patients (cognitive part of the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale: p = 0.048) and depressive mood in female patients were improved after treatment at the 3-month follow-up (Geriatric Depression Scale: p = 0.030). Moreover, the burden on male caregivers was reduced (behavioral pathology in Alzheimer's Disease Rating Scale: p = 0.002) at 3 months. Conclusion: Combined short-term rehabilitative treatment of patients and psychosocial intervention for caregivers is modestly effective in patients with dementia and their caregivers, but may be subject to gender-specific effects.

The effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for family caregivers on the psychosocial wellbeing, physical health and quality of life of stroke family caregivers and their stroke survivors: a systematic review

Objectives The objective of this systematic review is to identify the best available evidence related to the effectiveness of psychosocial interventions for caregivers on the psychosocial wellbeing, physical health and quality of life of family caregivers and their stroke survivors. The specific review questions to be addressed are: Family caregivers • What are the effectiveness of varying formats and types of psychosocial intervention on the family caregiver’s psychosocial wellbeing including anxiety, depression, burden and strain of caregiving, mental health, social relationship and support? • What are the effectiveness of varying formats and types of psychosocial intervention on the family caregiver’s physical health including somatic complaints and incidence of accidents or injuries? • What are the effectiveness of varying formats and types of psychosocial intervention on the family caregiver’s quality of life including the psychological, physical, social, and environmental domains? Stroke survivors • What are the effectiveness of varying formats and types of psychosocial intervention on the stroke survivor’s psychosocial wellbeing including anxiety, depression and social recovery? • What are the effectiveness of varying formats and types of psychosocial intervention on the stroke survivor’s physical health including physical functioning? • What are the effectiveness of varying formats and types of psychosocial intervention on the stroke survivor’s quality of life including the psychological, physical, social, and environmental domains from the stroke survivors’ perspective and also their family caregivers’ perspective? Criteria for considering studies for this review Population Adult patients aged 18 or above, with a clinical diagnosis of ischemic or hemorrhagic stroke, which was confirmed by computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and were the community-dwelling survivors of the first or recurrent of stroke, received in-patient stroke treatment and were discharged home after hospitalization. Family caregivers will be the adult family member of stroke survivors, aged 18 or above, who were the primary caregivers that was the one who spent the most time of caring their stroke survivors, or the one who was identified by the stroke survivors as their primary caregivers. In addition, investigator’s definition of family caregivers, for example, family members spent on average TRUNCATED AT 350 WORDS

The Effects of Counseling Spouse Caregivers of People With Alzheimer Disease Taking Donepezil and of Country of Residence on Rates of Admission to Nursing Homes and Mortality

Does psychosocial intervention for caregivers whose spouses with Alzheimer disease (AD) are taking donepezil delay nursing home (NH) placement or death of patients? Randomized controlled trial with 2 years of active treatment and up to 8.5 years of follow-up (mean: 5.4 years, SD: 2.4). Outpatients of research clinics in Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. One hundred and fifty-five persons with AD and their spouses. Five sessions of individual and family counseling (+ prn ad hoc counseling) or usual care. Time to institutionalization and death using Cox proportional hazards methods. Over a mean of 5.4 years (SD: 2.4), there were no differences in NH placement or mortality by intervention group, but there were by country, with Australian patients admitted to NHs earlier than U.S. than U.K. patients. Earlier NH admission of Australian compared to U.K. and U.S. subjects may be due to differences in health care, NH systems, availability, and affordability.

Psychosocial interventions for caregivers of people with dementia: a systematic review.

The content of interventions for caregivers of dementia patients is highly varied. None of the reviews conducted to date have focused on evaluating the effects of the content of interventions exclusively for dementia caregivers, and this issue is not well understood. The purpose of this review was to first identify the type of components (e.g. education, counselling) that have been utilized in psychosocial/psycho-educational interventions for dementia caregivers, and to evaluate the success of the different components or combination of components in producing positive outcomes for dementia caregivers. Forty studies were included in the review. Approximately two-thirds of the interventions did not show improvements in any outcome measures. Among those studies, which did demonstrate improvements, the inclusion of social components (e.g. social support) or a combination of social and cognitive (e.g. problem solving) components seemed to be relatively effective. It is important to note, however, that these analyses were based on small numbers and the review was limited by a number of methodological issues (e.g. poor description of interventions). To advance our understanding of the efficacy of psychosocial interventions for caregivers of people with dementia, a more systematic approach is required. Intervention components need to be carefully contrasted in appropriately designed studies of sufficient size.