Janice M. Keefe, Ph.D.
Mount Saint Vincent University
Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada

2003 Investigator-Initiated Research Grant

Family caregivers need to be concerned about their health and well-being, for their own sakes and in order to provide quality care for a person with Alzheimer’s disease. Previous research has demonstrated that for health care professionals to implement specific interventions to meet the caregiver’s needs, caregivers should be assessed in their own right, separately from the care receiver. This research group will test the Caregiver Assessment Tool, a questionnaire designed for home care specialists to assess the needs of care providers.

The study will include more than 600 family caregivers of persons with or without Alzheimer’s disease who participate in public home care programs in three Canadian provinces. They researchers will assess the impact of using the Caregiver Assessment Tool on caregivers, care recipients, and service organizations. The research design will include interviews with caregivers, practitioners, and home care supervisors. Results of this research will provide evidence for the design of specific interventions to support caregivers and, by extension, improve the well-being of the persons with Alzheimer’s disease.