The Effectiveness of CBTAC Protocol on Burdens of Alzheimer’s Disease on Caregivers and their Sense of Coherence

Abstract

Background: Alzheimer’s disease is predicted to increase dramatically in the near future. Alzheimer’s caregiving brings about severe problems for caregivers. Considering the corrosive consequences of Alzheimer’s disease on Alzheimer’s caregivers, finding an effective intervention is necessary. Thus, the present research conducted by the aim of investigating the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral treatment for Alzheimer’s disease patients and their caregiver’s protocol on burdens of Alzheimer’s disease on caregivers and their sense of coherence (SOC). Methods: This study was a quasi-experimental research with a pretest-posttest control group design. The target population included all mild Alzheimer’s disease patients and their caregivers referred to the neurology ward of the hospitals in Rasht during summer 2018. According to the medical records and results of screening, 40 mild Alzheimer’s disease, patients and their caregivers recruited by convenience sampling method. After sampling, research participants randomly assigned into two experimental (n= 20) and waitlist control (n=20) groups. The Impact of Alzheimer’s Disease on Caregiver Questionnaire and SOC scale were used to measure the burdens of Alzheimer’s disease on caregivers and caregivers’ SOC. The CBTAC provided for the experimental group participants in 25 sessions of 90-minutes. In the end, the data analyze has done by multivariate analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) and using SPSS24 software. Results: The findings indicated that the CBTAC had a significant effect on the burdens and SOC of Alzheimer’s caregivers in the experimental group (P<0.01). In other words, the CBTAC decreases burdens and increase the SOC of Alzheimer’s caregivers significantly (P<0.01). Conclusion: Based on the research results, the CBTAC is an effective intervention in decreasing caregiving burden and the increasing SOC of Alzheimer’s caregivers. Therefore, CBTAC is a multicomponent intervention that can be used to improve the competency and mental health of Alzheimer’s caregivers.