MENTAL HEALTH OF CAREGIVERS OF THE ELDERLY

这项拟议的研究代表了以大学为基础的 新泽西州分部的研究人员和老年学计划 健康。总体目标是评估日托服务的益处。 适用于患有痴呆症的老年人的家庭照顾者。一个 第二个目标是研究服务的使用模式。当一个 大量的文献记载了照顾弱者的压力 老年人，相对较少的研究调查了这种好处 以及针对家庭成员的各种干预措施的缺点。在……里面 特别是，日托和暂托服务已被提议作为 以社区为基础的长期护理的关键环节，但有证据表明有好处 对于照顾者的心理健康和福祉来说是有限的。绘图 在一般应力过程模型的基础上，我们将研究建议的 预计喘息将使照顾者受益的机制。 具体地说，我们预计托儿所会影响时间 照顾者可以参加其他活动，这应该会导致 照顾者对压力源和整体幸福感的评价发生了变化。一个 将采用准实验设计。实验对象为200人 痴呆症患者的主要家庭照顾者参加新的 泽西州日托计划，为老年人提供广泛的补贴 服务成本。与关键变量(KIN)匹配的对照样本 包括性别、生活安排、种族和社会地位的关系) 将从另一个州的可比人口中抽取 护理补贴并不普遍。科目将在3点进行评估 时间点：在日托之前(或对照基线)，3个月， 一年。数据分析将包括重复测量ANCOVA和 进行模型试验，以确定规定的效果和数额 暂缓照顾者对压力源和幸福感的评估。

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.