The Gerontologist A Psychoeducational Model for Hispanic Alzheimer’s Disease Caregivers

More than 14 million persons are projected to be diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease (AD) by the year 2020; therefore, it is not surprising that the literature con-tains numerous caregiver intervention studies. What is surprising is that although minority elders represent one of the fastest growing segments of the older population, they are seldom discussed in the intervention literature. Design and Methods: A purposive sample of Hispanic caregivers participated in a 5-day, 20-hr psychoeduca-tional program to increase the caregivers ’ understanding and acceptance of AD, repertoire of coping skills, knowl-edge of resources, and expression of concerns and emo-tions of caregiving. Pre- and posttests were administered to determine if participation in the program improved caregivers ’ knowledge of the progression and man-agement of AD, as well as knowledge of appropriate community-based services