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(Reuters Health) – Much has been written about the stress and emotional demands of taking care of family members with dementia, and a new study suggests that some of this burden can be offset by training that helps caregivers to focus on the positive aspects of their experience.
In a randomized controlled trial, the researchers showed that a six-session online training program produced modest improvements in anxiety and depression in the caregiver, according to the results published in Health Psychology.
"Caregivers have high rates of burden, distress and depression," said lead author of the study, Judith Moskowitz, professor and director of research at Osher's Center for Integrative Medicine of the Northwestern University in Chicago. "There are programs to help them, but these usually involve education on how to manage care activities."
This study shows that "a program that teaches the skills needed to have more positive emotions helps caregivers to better cope with caregiving demands," said Moskowitz. "It's unique in that it describes a set of eight skills that help you have more positive emotions on a daily basis."
Previous research has shown that "even people with significant stressors can experience positive emotions," said Moskowitz. "We do not expect that they deny having negative emotions, we rather help them realize that they can also have periods of positive emotions."
The intervention designed by Moskowitz and his colleagues helped develop skills that reinforce positive emotions: to notice and focus on positive events, to feel gratitude for these events, to be attentive, to look for the positive aspects of stressful events, focus on one's own strengths, set achievable goals. goals and find ways to be kind.
To test their intervention, researchers recruited 170 dementia caregivers who were randomly badigned to one of two groups: the intervention group, in which the volunteers acquired positive emotional skills such as the recognition of a positive daily event and the holding of a gratitude journal, and the control group, in which volunteers were asked to fill out daily questionnaires about their feelings. After the initial six weeks, control group members were also referred to the intervention.
At the beginning and at the end of the study period, volunteers completed questionnaires badessing their depression, anxiety, physical health, and the burden of their caregivers.
The six sessions that encouraged positive emotions were part of a program called LEAF for caregivers. They were presented by a facilitator through a tablet web conference call to each participant. The online appearance of the training allowed researchers to include caregivers from all over the country, including rural areas.
When the researchers compared the questionnaires before and after the six-week training, they found that the volunteers in the intervention group had a 7% decrease in symptoms of depression and a 9% decrease in symptoms. Anxiety about the control group.
In other words, said Moskowitz, the intervention group members have gone from symptomatic symptoms of moderate depression to normal values. In contrast, volunteers in the control group remained in the mild to moderate range for depression.
"Much of the scientific literature has looked at the stress and issues of caregivers," said David Roth, professor and director of the Center on Aging and Health at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. "What is underestimated are the benefits of providing care to an elderly member of the family with dementia, which is a good counterweight to programs that focus on stress management."
This is an intervention to help people find the common thread of their experiences, Roth said.
"It's impressive that after only six weeks, the LEAF intervention had health effects, which usually affects caregivers," said Sarah Stahl, badistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh , who did not participate in the study.
"Targeting positive emotions may improve the overall health and well-being of informal caregivers, ultimately affecting the quality of care they are able to provide to their family members. dementia, "Stahl said in an email. "LEAF is unique in that it focuses on positive psychology to enhance psychological and physical well-being."
SOURCE: https://bit.ly/2URa1jr Psychology of Health, online May 2, 2019.
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