# Presentation: 346030

## Supporting Caregivers Through Education and Training Ronald W. ToselandTamara Smith

- Ronald W. Toseland, Ph.D. is Director and Professor, Institute of Gerontology, School of Social Welfare, University at Albany.
- Tamara Smith, BA is a doctoral student, Sociology Department and Institute of Gerontology, University at Albany.

## http://www.aoa.gov/aoacarenet/EdandTrng-Toseland.html

- Family caregivers play a vital role in maintaining the health and independence of frail elders. One in four households in the United States provide care for a frail older person, and the economic value of this care has been estimated from 45 to 200 billion dollars.

- Although caregiving is rewarding, it can also have a detrimental impact on the health and well-being of the caregiver. Caregiving has its greatest impact on the emotional health of caregivers, and caregivers of persons with dementia and stroke are at the highest risk for depression and anxiety disorders.

- When designing programs to educate, support, and train caregivers it is important to consider the goals of the program. These might include:
- Support
- Education about chronic illnesses
- Education about community resources and services
- Education about caregiving
- Coping skills
- Problem solving

- When designing programs it is also important to consider whether particular subgroups of caregivers should be targeted. Casting a broad net enables practitioners to reach out to the largest possible group of caregivers, but it is not conducive for providing the kind of specialized information, knowledge and support that caregivers often seek.

- Some targeting variables to consider when designing programs include:
- whether the focus should be on prevention or remediation
- the nature and extent of the care recipients’ disability
- the relationship of the caregiver to the care recipient gender
- race, ethnicity and socio-economic status
- special populations, such as grandparent  caregivers

- There are many ways to educate and train family caregivers including:
- single session community workshops and educational forums
- lecture series followed by discussion
- support groups
- psycho-educational and skills building groups
- individual counseling and training
- family counseling
- care coordination and management
- technology-based interventions

- The empirical literature does not provide definitive guidance about what method is most efficacious but suggests that multi-component programs may be more effective than single component programs.

- There is also some evidence that individual training programs may be more effective than group programs in helping caregivers with emotional problems, but that group training may be more effective in building social support and overcoming isolation. With respect to group programs, there is some evidence that structured psycho-educational programs containing a combination of education, problem solving and coping skills training and support may be more effective than single component support group programs.

- The monograph concludes with a discussion of selected planning and implementation issues including:
- recruitment strategies
- reaching out to minority caregivers
- monitoring program implementation
- evaluating the impact of caregiver education and training programs

- An appendix to the monograph includes three sections:
- resources for caregivers
- resources for professionals working with caregivers
- disease specific resources for both caregivers and professionals