The Church’s Response to Alzheimer’s Disease

This study examined churches’responses to families living with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Forty informants (19 spousal caregivers and their respective clergy) were interviewed with four research goals in mind: (a) to identify the importance of church participation, (b) to examine the nature of the caregiver-clergy dyad, (c) to identify church-based intervention programs, and (d) to develop guidelines for offering assistance to congregants. Findings show that churches can play an important support role to AD families. Church participation remained important for most informants, even with the added demands of caregiving. Most provided information congruent with that of their clergy and most were satisfied with their churches’responses to their situations. Several successful church-based programs were identified, and six guidelines for responding to AD families emerged from the data. Future research should examine how non-Christian faiths are responding to members who have AD or related illnesses. Church Participation and Alzheimer’s Disease The caregiving experience is one of the most stressful challenges that one may face in life (Aneshensel, Pearlin, Mullan, Zarit, & Whitlatch, 1995). Th