Faculty of Brain Sciences, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
Centre for Chronic Illness and Ageing, Institute of Life Course Development, School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, Old Royal Naval College, London, SE10 9LS, UK.
Clin Interv Aging. 2023 Nov 21;18:1923-1935. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S429556. eCollection 2023.
Informal caregivers are vital in assisting people with dementia. However, this role can significantly impact caregivers' lives and interventions to support them are crucial. This study aimed to develop a United Kingdom version of the Dementia Awareness for Caregivers (DAC) course and to investigate the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of delivering the course online to informal dementia caregivers.
This study comprised a mixed-methods pre-post intervention parallel group design. Fifty-one informal dementia caregivers were randomized into either an experimental (receiving the DAC course) or control group (treatment as usual). Outcomes relating to perceived burden, attitude, competence, relationship quality and positive caregiving aspects were measured at baseline and follow-up, alongside statistics relating to recruitment, retention, attendance, and adherence. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore qualitative acceptability and impact among caregivers who completed the DAC course.
The study found high retention and attendance rates with low levels of unexplained attrition. Analysis indicated positive change for four of the outcome measures in favor of the DAC course, however this was not statistically significant. Qualitative analysis generated 11 subthemes organized into four overarching main themes; "acceptability of course", "impact of course on caregivers", "using skills from course" and "outcome measures".
Findings provide promising evidence for the feasibility, acceptability and impact of the Dementia Awareness for Caregivers course when delivered online to informal caregivers in the United Kingdom.
在帮助痴呆症患者方面，非专业照料者是至关重要的。然而，这个角色会对照料者的生活产生重大影响，因此对他们进行干预以提供支持是至关重要的。本研究旨在开发一种英国版的痴呆症照料者认知课程，并研究向非专业痴呆症照料者在线提供该课程的可行性、可接受性和影响。
这是一项混合方法、干预前后平行组设计的研究。51 名非专业痴呆症照料者被随机分配到实验组（接受 DAC 课程）或对照组（常规治疗）。在基线和随访时测量与感知负担、态度、能力、关系质量和积极照护方面相关的结果，同时还统计了招募、保留、出勤率和依从性方面的相关数据。对完成 DAC 课程的照料者进行了半结构化访谈，以探索其对课程的定性可接受性和影响。
研究发现，保留率和出勤率都很高，且无明显原因的失访率较低。分析表明，四项结果测量指标均出现有利于 DAC 课程的积极变化，但这并不具有统计学意义。定性分析生成了 11 个子主题，分为四个主要主题：“课程的可接受性”、“课程对照料者的影响”、“使用课程中的技能”和“结果测量”。
这些发现为在英国向非专业痴呆症照料者在线提供 DAC 课程的可行性、可接受性和影响提供了有希望的证据。
