The effectiveness of health promotion counseling to family caregivers.

This study examined the effectiveness of health promotion counseling of the family caregivers from Taipei Metropolitan Area. An established Chinese version of the health-promoting scale was developed by the author of this study (which was modified and authorized by Walker, Sechrist, & Pender, 1987). A two-group quasi-experimental research design was employed. From October 1996 to July 1997, 84 family caregivers were selected and assigned to one of the two groups. Members of the treatment group received health promotion counseling from four trained professional home care nurses during home visiting. The members of the control group were given no counseling but instead received traditional care. Pre-assessment was carried out after subjects were selected and post evaluation was done 6 months later. The findings showed that the counseling enabled members of the treatment group to adopt healthier lifestyles. The research outcome supports the value of home-care nurse counseling of family caregivers.