MENTAL HEALTH OF CAREGIVERS OF THE ELDERLY

这项拟议的研究是一项基于大学的合作， 研究人员和新泽西州老年医学部的老年学项目 健康 总体目标是评估日托服务的好处 为患有痴呆症的老年人的家庭照顾者提供服务。 一 第二个目标是研究服务使用模式。 虽然 大量的文献记载了照顾体弱多病者的压力 对于老年人，相对较少的研究调查了 以及对家庭成员的各种干预措施的缺点。 在 特别是，日托和喘息服务已被提议作为一个 社区长期护理的关键环节，但效益的证据 精神健康和照顾者的福祉是有限的。 绘图 在一般的应力过程模型上，我们将研究所提出的 预计喘息会使照顾者受益的机制。 具体来说，我们预计日托将影响时间的数量 照顾者可以从事其他活动，这应该会导致 照顾者对压力源和整体幸福感的评估的变化。 一 将采用准实验设计。实验对象将有200人 痴呆症患者的主要家庭照顾者参加了一个新的 泽西岛日托计划，为儿童提供广泛的补贴， 服务费用。 对照样本匹配的关键变量（亲属） 关系，包括性别，生活安排，种族和SES） 将从另一个州的可比人口中抽取， 护理补贴并不普遍。 受试者将在3时接受评估 时间点：日托前（或对照基线），3个月， 和1年。 数据分析将包括重复测量ANCOVA和 模型测试，以确定规定和金额的影响， 缓解照顾者对压力源和福祉的评估。

The proposed study represents a collaboration of university-based researchers and the Gerontology Program of the New Jersey Department of Health. The overall goal is to assess the benefits of day care services for family caregivers of older people with dementing illnesses. A secondary objective is to study patterns of service use. While an extensive literature documents the stressfulness of caring for a frail older person, relatively little research has investigated the benefits and drawbacks of various interventions for family members. In particular, day care and respite services have been proposed as a critical link in community-based long-term care, but evidence of benefits for the mental health and well-being of caregivers is limited. Drawing upon a general stress process model, we will investigate the proposed mechanisms by which respite is expected to benefit caregivers. Specifically, we expect that day care will affect the amount of time caregivers have available for other activities, which should result in changes in caregivers' appraisals of stressors and overall well-being. A quasi-experimental design will be used. Experimental subjects will be 200 principal family caregivers of dementia patients participating in a New Jersey program of day care, which provides extensive subsidies for the cost of services. A control sample matched on key variables (kin relationship which includes gender, living arrangements, race, and SES) will be drawn from a comparable population in another state in which day care subsidies are not widely available. Subjects will be evaluated at 3 points in time: prior to day care (or baseline for controls), 3 months, and 1 year. Data analysis will include repeated measures ANCOVA and model testing to determine the effects of the provision and amount of respite on caregivers' appraisals of stressors and well-being.