Family carers’ experiences of attending a multicomponent psychosocial intervention program for carers and persons with dementia

Figures & data

Table 1 The content of the intervention program

Education	• The carers received education about dementia either in a community-based educational program (“school for carers”) or in two half-day seminars • They received a booklet about dementia and relevant brochures
Counseling	• There were five counseling sessions, each of 1 hour’s duration, to identify the needs and resources of the family and to find ways of dealing with challenges by using structured problem solving • The primary carer participated in all the sessions • The person with dementia participated in two of the five sessions, in which the focus was on how to maintain performance of daily tasks and involve him/her in pleasant activities • One session was used for the whole family network
Group meetings	• The main approach in the six carer groups was to use structured problem solving to develop ways of coping • In the six group meetings for people with dementia, the focus was on information about dementia and pleasant activities • Two follow-up group meetings took place after 12 and 15 months

Table 2 Problem-solving method in six steps

Step number	Step
1	Define a problem as concretely as possible
2	Brainstorm; all proposals to be recorded
3	Discuss the proposed solutions: pros and cons
4	Choose a solution or a combination of solutions
5	Detail a description of how to carry out the chosen solution
6	Evaluate at the next meeting

Table 3 Characteristics of the persons with dementia and their carers

Person with dementia		Carer
Number	Sex	Age,a years	Relationship	Age,b years
1	M	76	Wife	72
2	M	78	Wife*	74
3	F	77	Husband	81
4	F	83	Daughter	54
5	F	64	Son	52
6	M	88	Wife	67
7	F	77	Son	52
8	M	77	Wife*	65
9	M	85	Wife*	62
10	F	76	Daughter	50
11	M	69	Wife*	67
12	M	65	Wife*	66
13	M	68	Wife*	68
14	M	72	Wife	71
15	F	75	Husband*	82
16	F	86	Daughter	50
17	F	84	Son*	56
18	F	67	Daughter	55
19	M	81	Wife	70
20	M	76	Wife	76

Notes:

a Age at inclusion

b age when the interviews were performed

* the persons with dementia were home-dwelling when the interviews were performed.

Abbreviations: F, female; M, male.

Table 4 Categories and subcategories related to the carers’ experiences of participating in the intervention

Category	Subcategory
Benefit of the intervention program	Importance of content and group organization
	Importance of social support
Missing content in the intervention program	Need for extended content
	Need for new group organizations