Rosney Daniel Michael, F Noe Michael, J Horvath Peter
Department of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, State University of New York at Buffalo, Buffalo, New York.
Community Relations and Clinical Affairs, School of Public Health and Health Professions, State University, Buffalo, New York.
J Caring Sci. 2017 Sep 1;6(3):187-198. doi: 10.15171/jcs.2017.019. eCollection 2017 Sep.
Care providers consistently report negative consequences to their mental health as a direct result of their caregiving responsibilities. Specifically, they describe higher levels of distress, mental health problems, and depressive symptoms compared to their non-caregiving matched controls. Powerful Tools for Caregivers (PTC) is a national program that aims to empower caregivers to better care for themselves and enhance their self-efficacy. The purpose of the present study was to determine and quantify the effectiveness of the PTC program through pre/post data analysis. PTC intervention was evaluated at two questionnaire time points: pre-PTC and post-PTC between June 30, 2004 and Oct 16, 2013. Paired sample t-tests (n=409) were conducted using SPSS Statistics Version 22 (IBM Corp., Armonk, NY). PTC increased caregivers who conducted self-care behaviors, who demonstrated self-efficacy, management of depressing emotions and those who used community resources. PTC results in caregivers reporting that they are taking better care of themselves, reacting to their emotions in a healthier manner, gaining more confidence in their caregiving abilities and coping skills, and becoming more knowledgeable about receiving assistance from their community resources.
护理提供者一直报告称，由于其护理职责，他们的心理健康受到负面影响。具体而言，与非护理对照者相比，他们表现出更高程度的痛苦、心理健康问题和抑郁症状。“照顾者有力工具”（PTC）是一项全国性计划，旨在使照顾者有能力更好地照顾自己并提高自我效能感。本研究的目的是通过前后数据分析来确定并量化PTC计划的有效性。在2004年6月30日至2013年10月16日期间的两个问卷时间点对PTC干预进行了评估：PTC前和PTC后。使用SPSS Statistics版本22（IBM公司，纽约州阿蒙克）进行配对样本t检验（n = 409）。PTC增加了进行自我护理行为、表现出自我效能感、管理抑郁情绪以及使用社区资源的照顾者人数。PTC使照顾者报告称他们更好地照顾自己，以更健康的方式应对情绪，对自己的护理能力和应对技巧更有信心，并且对从社区资源获得帮助有了更多了解。
