Reducing Caregiver Burden Through Short-Term Training: Evaluation Findings from a Caregiver Support Project

A Caregiver Support Project was established to develop and evaluate training interventions for older spouse caregivers. A total of 113 caregivers participated in six, weekly sessions designed to enhance their coping skills and reduce their sense of burden. Evaluation results suggest the intervention improved coping effectiveness, increased activity coping responses, and slightly reduced caregiver burden. Family participation in training enhanced the impact of the intervention. An in-home training format was developed for caregivers who were unable to attend group sessions. This proved less effective than caregiver groups, but represents one approach to reaching isolated caregivers.