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Strategies For Sustaining Self Used By Family Caregivers For Older Adults With Dementia, Margaret J. Bull

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

The negative health consequences of caring for an older adult family member with dementia are well documented. However, not all family caregivers experience these negative health consequences. The purposes of this study were to describe strategies family caregivers use to help them continue to provide care for an older family member with dementia despite challenges and describe these family caregivers’ resilience and psychological distress. A mixed methods design was used with a narrative approach dominant and standardized scales for resilience and psychological distress used to enhance the description of the sample. Data were collected through telephone interviews with 18 family …

Psychometric Properties Of The Resourcefulness Scale Among Caregivers Of Persons With Autism Spectrum Disorder, Abir K. Bekhet, Jaclene Zauszniewski

College of Nursing Faculty Research and Publications

Caregiving for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be very costly to caregivers’ well-being. Resourcefulness interventions have shown increases in positive health outcomes. However, before delivering the intervention, there should be a reliable and a valid measure to test resourcefulness. The psychometric properties of the Resourcefulness Scale (RS) have not been examined among ASD caregivers. This study examined the psychometrics of the 28-item RS in a convenience sample of 204 ASD caregivers. A Cronbach’s alpha of .91 showed the internal consistency of the RS. Construct validity was supported by the emergence of two dimensions of resourcefulness (personal and social) …

Preventing Dysfunctional Behaviors Of Those With Dementia Based On The Progressively Lowered Stress Threshold Model, Mary Chrabaszcz

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Projects

Abstract

Dementia is a disease that impacts millions of people worldwide. Amongst the complications of this disease are behaviors that affect not only the individual with dementia but also their caregivers. These behaviors can be challenging especially for formal caregivers and it is important that they are taught how to prevent them. Long-term care facilities are the perfect settings for this type of education. For this reason, an educational program, including a needs assessment, PowerPoint presentation, and on-site support, was brought to a locked, assisted-living unit of Jewish Geriatric Services in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. The educational program was inspired and supported …