The Going to Stay at Home program: combining dementia caregiver training and residential respite care.

ABSTRACTBackground:Caring for persons with dementia is stressful for family caregivers. Caregiver training programs and respite care can reduce this stress and help maintain persons with dementia living longer in the community. We evaluated a program that combines caregiver training with a residential respite stay.

METHODS: In total, 90 dyads of persons with dementia and their caregivers, in groups of 3-6 dyads, volunteered to participate in a five-day residential training program and were followed-up 6 and 12 months later. The primary outcome was caregiver depression; secondary outcomes were measures of caregiver burden, unmet needs, person with dementia behavioral symptoms, and the quality of life and function.

RESULTS: Caregiver depression and burden were unchanged, despite decreasing function in persons with dementia. Caregivers' unmet needs and behavioral symptoms in persons with dementia decreased significantly. Compared to a group of persons with dementia admitted for routine residential respite care, there was a marked reduction in permanent placement over 12 months.

CONCLUSIONS: The Going to Stay at Home Program is a feasible and practicable model with benefits for caregivers and persons with dementia. It may lead to delay in institutionalization and may be applicable to other chronic conditions.