Objective: Communication breakdown is regularly listed among the top stressors in measures of burden for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) caregivers. The FOCUSED communication training program was developed to assist caregivers in maintaining communication with persons with Alzheimer’s disease throughout the course of the illness. The FOCUSED caregivers training program is specifically designed to maintain and improve communication between caregivers and persons with Alzheimer’s disease. It addresses communication goals for all stages of this disease.
Stage I –Early – Keep the person engaged and in contact. To improve the person’s moral.
Stage II – Middle – Maintain the normal form of communication interactions.
Stage III – Late – Stimulate the person to interact.
Design: FOCUSED is an eight-hour training program that teaches a seven step process to improve the day-to-day functional communication problems faced by caregivers of institutionalized AD patients. This eight hour training program is designed for a sixth grade reading level and includes mini-lectures, role-play, discussions and practice activities as learning strategies.
Materials: Trainer’s Manual, Caregiver Guide, Pre- and Post- Tests, Overhead Transparencies, Carryover Assignments, Evaluation Forms, FOCUSED Cards, Videotaped Vignettes (in research protocol)
Methods: Mini-lecture, Discussion topics, Role- play, Carryover practice assignments
Conclusion: Our research has shown that training caregivers to interact improves communication with persons with AD. The ability of caregivers to draw on strategies and techniques for dealing with communication problems in persons with AD reduces their own stress and frustrations and improves their competence in delivering quality care. In addition, caregivers are better able to promote the patient’s remaining communication abilities. Prior to the development of FOCUSED no systematic, comprehensive training program for improving communication skills for caregivers had been developed and evaluated. The FOCUSED program has led to significant improvements in caregivers’ attitudes toward AD patients, increases knowledge of AD and decreases in reported communication hassles. FOCUSED training increases successful question and response communication exchanges. These results suggest that caregivers of persons with AD can be trained to structure questions in ways that results in more successful communication. And these improvements appear to be sustained for at least six months post training. Differential effects of FOCUSED training on African-American and White caregivers were shown in comparisons studies, with African-American caregivers showing greater positive affect than White caregivers. Additionally, African-American caregivers showed significant declines in perceived daily communication hassles post training whereas white caregivers did not. Longitudinal effects of FOCUSED training showed that effects declined over time.
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