Ducharme Francine, Lachance Lise, Lévesque Louise, Zarit Steven Howard, Kergoat Marie-Jeanne
a Faculté des sciences infirmières , Université de Montréal , and Holder of the Desjardins Research Chair in Nursing Care for Seniors and Their Families, Centre de recherche, Institut universitaire de gériatrie de Montréal , Montréal (Qc) , Canada.
Aging Ment Health. 2015;19(3):207-16. doi: 10.1080/13607863.2014.922527. Epub 2014 Jun 19.
Booster sessions as a means of maintaining the benefits of psycho-educational programs have received little attention in caregiving research. Caregivers were offered a booster session following participation in a program entitled Learning to Become a Family Caregiver (LBFC) intended to facilitate transition to the caregiver role after diagnostic disclosure of dementia in a relative. The 90-minute booster session served to review program content and afforded the opportunity to discuss and practice learned skills. This study sought to test the efficacy of the booster session in maintaining or recovering program effects at six months post-program.
Participants in the program were randomly assigned to a group that received the booster session (n = 31) or a group that did not (n = 29). A third control group was also formed, which continued to receive only the usual care provided in memory clinics. Eligible participants - French-speaking primary caregivers of a relative diagnosed with Alzheimer's in the past nine months - were recruited in memory clinics in Quebec (Canada). Participants were blindly assessed before randomization and six months after the booster session on outcomes associated with a healthy role transition.
Prediction analyses revealed one significant positive effect of the booster session: emergence of preparedness to provide care. Moreover, with or without the booster session, the program continued to have a positive effect on psychological distress and contributed to the emergence of self-efficacy in dealing with caregiving situations. The booster session had no significant effect on knowledge of services, planning for future care needs, use of reframing as a coping strategy, perceived informal support, and family conflicts.
The limited effect observed is discussed in terms of the booster session's content and intensity. Recommendations are made for designing future research on the effect of booster sessions, including the importance of including a placebo booster group.
作为维持心理教育项目益处的一种方式，强化课程在护理研究中很少受到关注。在参与了一个名为“学习成为家庭照顾者”（LBFC）的项目后，为照顾者提供了一次强化课程，该项目旨在促进在亲属被诊断患有痴呆症后向照顾者角色的转变。这次90分钟的强化课程用于回顾项目内容，并提供了讨论和练习所学技能的机会。本研究旨在测试强化课程在项目结束六个月后维持或恢复项目效果的功效。
该项目的参与者被随机分配到接受强化课程的组（n = 31）或未接受强化课程的组（n = 29）。还形成了第三个对照组，该组继续只接受记忆诊所提供的常规护理。符合条件的参与者——在过去九个月内被诊断患有阿尔茨海默病的亲属的法语主要照顾者——在加拿大魁北克的记忆诊所招募。在随机分组前和强化课程结束六个月后，对参与者进行与健康角色转变相关结果的盲法评估。
预测分析显示强化课程有一个显著的积极效果：出现提供护理的准备状态。此外，无论是否有强化课程，该项目对心理困扰继续产生积极影响，并有助于在应对照顾情况时产生自我效能感。强化课程对服务知识、未来护理需求规划、使用重新建构作为应对策略、感知到的非正式支持以及家庭冲突没有显著影响。
根据强化课程的内容和强度讨论了观察到的有限效果。针对未来关于强化课程效果的研究设计提出了建议，包括纳入安慰剂强化组的重要性。
