HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ALL ISSUES SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Mittelman, M. S. Articles by Haley, W. E. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Mittelman, M. S. Articles by Haley, W. E.

Preserving Health of Alzheimer Caregivers: Impact of a Spouse Caregiver Intervention

From the Department of Psychiatry, New York University School of Medicine, New York, NY (MSM); the Department of Biostatistics, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL (DLR, OJC); and the School of Aging Studies, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL (WEH).

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the effects of counseling and support on the physical health of caregivers of spouses of people with Alzheimer disease.

Methods: A randomized controlled trial, conducted between 1987 and 2006 at an outpatient research clinic in the New York City metropolitan area compared outcomes of psychosocial intervention to usual care. Structured questionnaires were administered at baseline and regular follow-ups. A referred volunteer sample of 406 spouse caregivers of community dwelling patients with Alzheimer disease enrolled over a 9.5-year period. Enhanced counseling and support consisted of six sessions of individual and family counseling, support group participation, and continuous availability of ad-hoc telephone counseling. Indicators of physical health included self-rated health (SRH) of caregivers and the number of reported illnesses.

Results: Controlling for baseline SRH (mean: 7.24), intervention group caregivers had significantly better SRH than control group caregivers based upon model predicted mean scores four months after baseline (6.87 versus 7.21), and this significant difference was maintained for two years (6.70 versus 7.01). The effect of the intervention on SRH remained significant after controlling for the effects of patient death, nursing home placement, caregiver depressive symptoms and social support satisfaction. Similar benefits of intervention were found for number of illnesses.

Conclusion: Counseling and support preserved SRH in vulnerable caregivers. Enhancing caregivers’ social support, fostering more benign appraisals of stressors, and reducing depressive symptoms may yield indirect health benefits. Psychosocial intervention studies with biological measures of physical health outcomes are warranted.

Key Words: Alzheimer disease • caregiver • self-rated health • longitudinal randomized trial • psychosocial intervention

This article has been cited by other articles:

				V. C. Crooks, J. Lubben, D. B. Petitti, D. Little, and V. Chiu Social Network, Cognitive Function, and Dementia Incidence Among Elderly Women Am J Public Health, July 1, 2008; 98(7): 1221 - 1227. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]