Small Jeff A, Gutman Gloria
School of Audiology and Speech Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, Canada.
Alzheimer Dis Assoc Disord. 2002 Oct-Dec;16(4):270-8. doi: 10.1097/00002093-200210000-00009.
Individuals with Alzheimer disease experience cognitive and behavioral impairments that affect their ability to communicate. In an effort to compensate for these declines, a number of communication strategies have been recommended in the literature for Alzheimer disease caregivers. These include recommendations for caregivers to modify their language behavior and/or the context of communication. The purpose of this study was to (1) review the Alzheimer disease caregiving literature and identify communication strategies commonly recommended for family caregivers and (2) determine how often caregivers report using these strategies and how effective they feel each is in facilitating communication. A review of the literature identified 10 recurring communication strategies. A questionnaire was constructed that asked caregivers to report on the use and efficacy of these 10 strategies. Twenty family (spouse) caregivers of persons diagnosed with Alzheimer disease completed the questionnaire. The results show that caregivers perceived using the 10 strategies, although the strategies appearing most frequently in the literature were not necessarily the ones used most often by caregivers. A positive correlation was observed between caregivers' perceived use of strategies and their effectiveness. Use and efficacy of a strategy did not significantly vary as a function of dementia severity or the gender of the caregiver. The findings provide evidence that caregivers are aware of their communication behavior and modify it in ways that they think improve communication with their spouse.
患有阿尔茨海默病的个体存在认知和行为障碍，这会影响他们的沟通能力。为了弥补这些能力下降，文献中为阿尔茨海默病患者的照料者推荐了多种沟通策略。这些建议包括让照料者改变他们的语言行为和/或沟通环境。本研究的目的是：（1）回顾阿尔茨海默病照料方面的文献，确定通常为家庭照料者推荐的沟通策略；（2）确定照料者报告使用这些策略的频率以及他们认为每种策略在促进沟通方面的效果如何。文献综述确定了10种反复出现的沟通策略。构建了一份问卷，要求照料者报告这10种策略的使用情况和效果。20名被诊断患有阿尔茨海默病患者的家庭（配偶）照料者完成了问卷。结果表明，照料者认为使用了这10种策略，尽管文献中出现频率最高的策略不一定是照料者最常使用的策略。观察到照料者对策略的感知使用与其有效性之间存在正相关。一种策略的使用和效果并不会因痴呆严重程度或照料者性别而有显著差异。研究结果提供了证据，表明照料者意识到自己的沟通行为，并以他们认为能改善与配偶沟通的方式进行调整。
