Intervention Program to Improve Grief-Related Symptoms in Caregivers of Patients Diagnosed With Dementia

Frontiers in Psychology

Manuel Fernández-Alcántara¹  Jorge Bravo-Benítez²  María Nieves Pérez-Marfil³  Francisco Cruz-Quintana³ 

[1] Department of Health Psychology, University of Alicante, Alicante, Spain;Mind, Brain, and Behavior Resarch Center (CIMCYC, Centro de Investigación Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento), University of Granada, Granada, Spain;Mind, Brain, and Behavior Resarch Center (CIMCYC, Centro de Investigación Mente, Cerebro y Comportamiento), University of Granada, Granada, Spain;Faculty of Psychology, University of Granada, Granada, Spain;

关键词: ambiguous grief;    sorrow;    dementia;    Alzheimer's disease;    caregiver;    grief;    intervention program;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpsyg.2021.628750

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

The objectives of the present study were to adapt a grief intervention program to family caregivers of patients with dementia, and assess its effectiveness in improving the symptoms of grief and other health-related variables. The intervention was based on Shear and Bloom's grief intervention program, with the necessary adaptations for use in the grieving process for a family member's illness. A total of 52 family caregivers of individuals with dementia participated. They were evaluated using a battery of self-report measures assessing grief, overload, resilience, post-traumatic growth, experiential avoidance, health-related quality of life, and benefits of care. The results suggest that the program is effective in improving grief symptoms, caregiver burden, resilience, post-traumatic growth, and quality of life of family caregivers. It is necessary to create and implement interventions targeting caregivers' feelings and manifestations of ambiguous grief, because there is a lack of programs providing an efficient solution for the mental and physical health of caregivers, and because of the human and socioeconomic cost involved in neglecting this group.

【 授权许可】

CC BY