473 - Post-diagnostic Dyadic Intervention for People with Dementia and their Family Carers

Abstract

Background and objectives Support directly after the diagnosis is often experiences as inadequate by people with dementia and their family carers. In this phase, appropriate psychosocial support is important to adapt to and cope with the dementia diagnosis. Often, available support is focused on practical matters and not on the emotional impact of the diagnosis. Also, very often problems have already started to accumulate before support is provided. In the US, the intervention SHARE [Support, Health, Activities, Resources, Education] was therefore developed and studied. This intervention is innovative, because it is designed for dyads (e.g., the person with dementia and their family carer) dealing with early-stage dementia. Its’ primary goal is to enhance communication between people with dementia and their family carers and to prepare them for the future. Several years ago, the intervention was adjusted and pilot -tested in the Netherlands, with positive results. This RCT study evaluates the (cost-)effectiveness of the Dutch SHARE intervention.

Methods During four or five session and a pre-session, a healthcare psychologist carries out the intervention with dyads dealing with early-stage dementia. This to enhance skills of the dyad to cope with changes and stressors that might be expected in the future due to the dementia. The intervention takes place in an early stage when the person with dementia is still able to participate actively and before the family carer is overwhelmed by care-related stress. The primary outcome measurements are the quality of life of the person with dementia and self-efficacy of the family carer. Secondary outcomes are stress, communication in the relationship and perspective taking measured only for family carers. The design and procedures of the RCT will be presented in this session as well as the content of the intervention and demographic characteristics of participating dyads.

Conclusion This intervention increases the ability of the dyad to cope with the disease and capacity to deal with the situation, with positive experiences of participating dyads and professionals. The study enhances knowledge about psychosocial interventions for people with dementia and family carer