Citation

Stern RA, D'Ambrosio LA, Mohyde M, Carruth A, Tracton-Bishop B, Hunter JC, Daneshvar DH, Coughlin JF. Gerontol. Geriatr. Educ. 2008; 29(4): 363-382.

Affiliation

Department of Neurology, Alzheimer's Disease Clinical and Research Program, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA 02118-2526, USA. bobstern@bu.edu

Copyright

(Copyright © 2008, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

19064472

PMCID

PMC2679525

Abstract

Deciding when an individual with dementia must reduce or stop driving can be a stressful issue for family caregivers. The purpose of this study was to develop a group intervention to assist these caregivers with driving issues and to provide a preliminary evaluation of the comparative effectiveness of this At the Crossroads intervention. Participants were randomized to one of three arms: (1) active intervention (four 2-hour manualized educational/support group meetings; n = 31); (2) written materials only (participants received written materials after a pretest; n = 23); and (3)control (participants received written materials after a posttest; n = 12).Participants were administered a battery of self-report and interview-based questionnaires at baseline and again 2 months later. At follow-up, the active intervention group scored significantly better than both other groups on key outcome variables, including self-efficacy, communication, and preparedness. The At the Crossroads caregiver intervention appears to effectively provide education and support needed for caregivers to address driving-related issues with their loved ones.

Language: en