RELAXATION THERAPY FOR CAREGIVERS OF ALZHEIMER'S PATIENTS

阿尔茨海默病患者护理人员的放松疗法

• 批准号: 7378180
• 负责人: SHARON L. LEWIS
• 金额: $ 3.21万
• 依托单位: UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS HLTH SCIENCE CENTER
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 财政年份: 2006
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2006-04-01 至 2007-03-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/7378180
• 关键词: RELAXATION; THERAPY; CAREGIVERS; ALZHEIMER; PATIENTS

This subproject is one of many research subprojects utilizing the resources provided by a Center grant funded by NIH/NCRR. The subproject and investigator (PI) may have received primary funding from another NIH source, and thus could be represented in other CRISP entries. The institution listed is for the Center, which is not necessarily the institution for the investigator. Aging baby boomers, longer life spans, and rising levels of Alzheimer's disease and related disorders (ADRD) will result in a major caregiver crisis in the near future. Although family caregivers perform an incredibly valuable service, they do so at a considerable cost to themselves both emotionally and physically. Effective stress management programs for caregivers are virtually needed to 1) help them decrease their stress, 2) improve their emotional and physical health, and 3) empower them to gain control of their lives. OBJECTIVE: The overall goal of this study is to determine the effectiveness of a stress-busting program (SBP) for caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Specific research objectives include: 1. Prospectively determine the effects of SBP on quality of life and immune response in caregivers of patients with chronic neurological diseases. Subjects will be tested at baseline, at completion of 4 and 8 weeks of SBP, and at 2 and 4 month follow-up sessions. 2. Determine subjects' relaxation response as well as their response to acute laboratory stressors using biofeedback instrumentation. Muscle tension, electrodermal response, skin temperature, blood volume pulse, and blood pressure will be measured. Subjects will be tested at baseline, at completion of 4 and 8 weeks of SBP and at 2 and 4 month follow-up sessions. Compare the effectiveness of SBP for adult children caregivers as compared to spousal caregivers based on quality of life measurements, immune parameters, and relaxation response. The proposed 8 - week multimodal SBP will focus on stress management, relaxation therapy, and education related to stress and relaxation, managing challenging behavior, depression, coping strategies, positive thinking, and taking time for onset. The setting will be an educational support group. A repeated measures design will be used to determine the effectiveness of SBP compared to SSG. Outcomes will be measured using psychosocial instruments as well as state-of-the science technology including bioinstrumentation and immune parameters to measure biological responses. The SBP is proposed as a way to decrease the level of stress experienced by caregivers and teach them effective coping strategies. If SBP is found to be more effective than SSG in decreasing stress, improving quality of life, promoting relaxation, and/or enhancing immunocompetence in family caregivers, these findings could have important clinical significance for providing a cost effective health promotion strategy for a group of people who experience tremendous ongoing stress.

该子项目是利用NIH/NCRR资助的中心赠款提供的资源的许多研究子项目之一。子弹和调查员（PI）可能已经从其他NIH来源获得了主要资金，因此可以在其他清晰的条目中代表。列出的机构适用于该中心，这不一定是调查员的机构。老化的婴儿潮一代，更长的寿命以及阿尔茨海默氏病和相关疾病（ADRD）的增长将在不久的将来导致重大的照顾者危机。尽管家庭护理人员提供了令人难以置信的有价值的服务，但他们在情感和身体上都以相当大的代价来做。实际上需要为护理人员提供有效的压力管理计划1）帮助他们减轻压力，2）改善情绪和身体健康，3）赋予他们对生活的控制权。 目的：这项研究的总体目标是确定为患有阿尔茨海默氏病的患者的护理人员确定一个破坏压力计划（SBP）的有效性。 具体的研究目标包括：1。前瞻性确定SBP对慢性神经疾病患者护理人员的生活质量和免疫反应的影响。受试者将在基线，4周和8周的SBP以及2和4个月的随访时进行测试。 2.使用生物反馈仪器来确定受试者的放松反应以及他们对急性实验室压力源的反应。将测量肌肉张力，电肌反应，皮肤温度，血液体积脉冲和血压。受试者将在基线，4周和8周的SBP以及2和4个月的随访期间进行测试。根据生活质量测量，免疫参数和放松反应，比较了SBP对成年子女护理人员的有效性。 拟议的8-周多模式SBP将专注于压力管理，放松疗法以及与压力和放松有关的教育，管理具有挑战性的行为，抑郁，应对策略，积极的思维，并抽出时间发作。设置将是一个教育支持小组。与SSG相比，将使用重复的措施设计来确定SBP的有效性。结果将使用社会心理仪器以及最先进的科学技术来衡量，包括生物启示和免疫参数，以衡量生物学反应。建议SBP是一种减少照料者所经历的压力水平并教导他们有效应对策略的一种方式。如果发现SBP在减轻压力，改善生活质量，促进放松和/或增强家庭护理人员的免疫能力方面比SSG更有效，那么这些发现可能具有重要的临床意义，可为一组经历巨大持续压力的人提供成本有效的健康促进策略。