Caregiver Review of Nonpharmacological Interventions for Behavioral Symptoms Associated With Dementia

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia and affects an individual’s overall cognitive function, including orientation, memory, and executive function. Most AD patients in the United States reside in residential care facilities or private homes under the care of individuals with little education on the challenges of the AD patient. Among the challenges faced by caregivers are behavioral and psychological symptoms related to dementia (BPSD). Education has been shown to improve caregivers’ treatment of BPSD in AD patients and to improve caregiver retention. The purpose of this project was to develop an evidence-based education module guided by Kolcaba’s comfort theory that could be provided to home care nurses who provide care for AD patients with BPSD. A 5-point, 15-item, Likert-scale evaluation survey was developed and administered to a panel of 5 professional content experts who reviewed and scored the educational module for clarity, usability, and applicability. The mean score of 4.6 indicated that the expert panel found the education module to meet the expected standards for use with AD caregivers. Recommendations from the panel of experts were to proceed with the caregiver education module as planned. Implementation of the module may lead to positive social change through the provision of education to caregivers on care of patients with AD and caregiver self-care