Sage Journals: Discover world-class research

Abstract

Families providing care to relatives with Alzheimer’s disease are quickly destabilized by changes that disrupt communication. This pilot mixed-design study aimed to provide a quantitative and qualitative evaluation of a communication-based training program for carers of people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease. Five participants received three training sessions. The use of communication strategies by participants and their effectiveness were evaluated before and after the training, and a focus group was conducted to gather participants’ impressions about the impacts of the training on communication with the person they cared for. The AID-COM (AID for COMmunication) program appears to have met expectations.

Keywords

communication carers Alzheimer’s disease education

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Alzheimer Society Canada (2018). Dementia numbers in Canada. Retrieved from https://alzheimer.ca/fr/Home/About-dementia/What-is-dementia/Dementia-numbers.

Braun

Clarke

(2013). Successful qualitative research. Los Angeles, CA: Sage.

Hudon

Belleville, S., Souchay, C., Gély-Nargeot, M. C., Chertkow, H., & Gauthier, S. (2006). Memory for gist and detail information in Alzheimer’s disease and mild cognitive impairment. Neuropsychology, 20(5), 566–577.

Joubert

Brambati, S. M., Ansado, J., Barbeau, E. J., Felician, O., Didic, M., … & Kergoat, M. J. (2010). The cognitive and neural expression of semantic memory impairment in mild cognitive impairment and early Alzheimer’s disease. Neuropsychologia, 48(4), 978–988.

Kouri

K. K.

Ducharme

F. C.

Giroux

(2011). A psycho-educational intervention focused on communication for caregivers of a family member in the early stage of Alzheimer's disease: Results of an experimental study. Dementia, 10(3), 435–453.

Martin-Cook

Davis, B. A., Hynan, L. S., & Weiner, M. F. (2005). A randomized, controlled study of an Alzheimer's caregiver skills training program. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, 20(4), 204–210.,

Nelis

S. M.

Clare

Whitaker

C. J.

(2012). Attachment representations in people with dementia and their carers: Implications for well-being within the dyad. Aging & Mental Health, 16(7), 845–854.

Nguyen

Terry

Phan

Vickers

McInerney

(2019). Communication training and its effects on carer and care-receiver outcomes in dementia settings: A systematic review. Journal of Clinical Nursing, 28, 1050–1069.

Pinquart

Sorensen

(2006). Helping caregivers of persons with dementia: Which interventions work and how large are their effects? International Psychogeriatrics, 18(4), 577–595.

10.

Rosa

Lussignoli, G., Sabbatini, F., Chiappa, A., Di Cesare, S., Lamanna, L., & Zanetti, O. (2010). Needs of caregivers of the patients with dementia. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 51(1), 54–58.

11.

Smith

E. R.

Broughton, M., Baker, R., Pachana, N. A., Angwin, A. J., Humphreys, M. S., … & Hegney, D. (2011). Memory and communication support in dementia: Research-based strategies for caregivers. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 23(2), 256–263.

Supplementary Material

Please find the following supplemental material available below.

For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.

For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.

0.00 MB

0.01 MB

Evaluation of AID-COM,a communication-focused program for family carers of people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease: A pilot study (innovative practice)

Abstract

Keywords

Get full access to this article

References

Supplementary Material