Boon Jeffrey T, Maxwell Cathy A, Layne Diana M
College of Nursing, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210, USA.
College of Nursing, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA.
Healthcare (Basel). 2025 Sep 3;13(17):2205. doi: 10.3390/healthcare13172205.
: Many community-dwelling Americans with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias rely on family caregivers to help meet their increasing care needs. These caregivers experience increased stress related to caregiving as well as more sedentary lifestyles that lead to the development of chronic non-communicable disease (NCD) and poorer health outcomes. Physical activity interventions for both the caregiver and person living with dementia have the potential to address these issues. We aimed to identify key factors that should be considered in tailoring physical activity interventions for dementia family caregivers. : Two case studies of dementia family caregivers are presented that describe the role of physical activity as it relates to their own health and the effects of caregiving. One caregiver was in the early stages of caregiving while the other provided the perspective of a caregiver after the death of the person with dementia. : While both caregivers participated in physical activity, their case studies reveal opportunities to optimize physical activity interventions to support members of the caregiving dyad: (1) targeting mitochondrial fitness-the ability of mitochondria to maintain energy homeostasis with aging-so participants can mitigate the onset of NCDs, fatigue, and overall health outcomes; (2) promoting the self-care and psychological benefits of physical activity such as improved mood and social connectedness; and (3) improving the accurate perceptions of participants' health and physical activity with specific measurable markers of physical activity. : These case studies demonstrate the key features in the development of psychoeducational interventions to promote physical activity in dementia caregiving and will be used in future intervention development.
许多患有阿尔茨海默病及相关痴呆症的美国居家老人依靠家庭护理人员来满足他们日益增长的护理需求。这些护理人员在护理过程中压力增大，且生活方式更加久坐不动，这导致了慢性非传染性疾病（NCD）的发展和更差的健康结果。针对护理人员和痴呆症患者的体育活动干预有可能解决这些问题。我们旨在确定在为痴呆症家庭护理人员量身定制体育活动干预措施时应考虑的关键因素。
介绍了两个痴呆症家庭护理人员的案例研究，描述了体育活动与其自身健康的关系以及护理的影响。一位护理人员处于护理的早期阶段，而另一位则提供了痴呆症患者去世后护理人员的观点。
虽然两位护理人员都参与了体育活动，但他们的案例研究揭示了优化体育活动干预措施以支持护理二元组成员的机会：（1）针对线粒体适应性——线粒体随着年龄增长维持能量稳态的能力——以便参与者可以减轻非传染性疾病、疲劳和整体健康结果的发生；（2）促进体育活动的自我护理和心理益处，如改善情绪和社会联系；（3）通过体育活动的特定可测量指标提高参与者对自身健康和体育活动的准确认知。
这些案例研究展示了在开发促进痴呆症护理中体育活动的心理教育干预措施的关键特征，并将用于未来的干预开发。
