Training programmes for family caregivers of people with dementia living at home: integrative review

Abstract

Aims and objectives: To establish primary features of training programmes designed to assist family caregivers of people with dementia living at home and to propose a model programme based on literature findings.

Background: Due to dementia's distinctive progression, there is a widely felt need to train family members who undertake the responsibility of caring for relatives diagnosed with this condition to provide positive care, particularly during the early and middle stages of the disease.

Design: Integrative review.

Methods: Literature reviews were carried out in the Pubmed, CINAHL, Mediclatina and Medline databases, using the following describers: training programme, family caregivers, dementia and aged. Such searches encompassed publications between 2004-2014, together with eight articles for review due to their positive identification with the inclusion criteria. Relevant results were extracted, the subsequent analysis performed and the presentation carried out in a descriptive manner.

Results: The prevailing length of a training programme for a family caregiver of people with dementia is of six sessions over a six-week period, with one weekly session load, and an average duration of 100 minutes each. Methodologies most commonly used include discussion, problem-solving models as well as skills and strategies training. The themes discussed comprehend caring for the individual with dementia, information about the illness and the use of health and community resources. Regarding the assessment of the family caregiver, the most widely used instruments are demographic assessment questionnaires, self-efficiency and caregiver's burnout scales, as well as depression and quality of life measures. Three assessment instances of family caregivers' needs during the training programme are commonly encountered: initial, final and follow-up.

Conclusions: This review has identified a set of features transversal to training programmes for family members who undertake the care for individuals with dementia living at home, which will bolster the construction and validation of other programmes in the area. More studies about such programmes need to be implemented, particularly engaged in their conceptual and experimental validation.

Relevance to clinical practice: The results of this review assist nurses by increasing their awareness of the basic assumptions supporting training programmes for family members responsible for individuals with dementia living at home and subsequently enforce them during their interventions with such population.

Keywords: aged; dementia; family caregivers; training programme.