Savvy Caregiver: (Download
Word Version)
An Evidence-Based Intervention for Alzheimer’s
and Dementia Care
Savvy Caregiver is intended to train families and others
for the unfamiliar role they face as caregiver for a relative
or friend with Alzheimer’s disease or another dementia. Savvy
Caregiver is a 12-hour training program that is usually
delivered in 2-hour sessions over a 6-week period. Available
materials for the program include a detailed trainer’s
manual, a caregiver manual, a training videotape, and a CD-ROM.
The program focuses on helping caregivers think about their situation
objectively and providing them with the knowledge, skills, and
attitudes they need to manage stress and carry out the caregiving
role effectively.
An evaluation of Savvy Caregiver found statistically
significant positive outcomes for caregivers who participated
in the program vs. those in the control group with respect to
the caregivers’ beliefs about caregiving, their reactions
to the behavioral symptoms of their care recipient, and their
feelings of stress and burden (Ostwald et al., 1999; Hepburn
et al., 2001). This evaluation was conducted in an academic setting
where the program was delivered by its developers.
Savvy Caregiver training has also been transformed
into a self-contained version that can be delivered in many settings
without direct involvement of the developers. This version was
field tested with 140 family caregivers in rural Minnesota, Denver,
and Anchorage, Alaska, with positive responses from the caregivers
and the professionals who offered the training (health educators,
nurses, social workers, recreation therapists, and geriatricians)
(Hepburn et al., 2003).
Since 2002, Savvy Caregiver training has been provided
by a consortium of agencies in Colorado with funding from the
Administration on Aging through the Alzheimer’s Disease
Demonstration Grants to States (ADDGS) program. A major objective
of the Colorado project was to reach rural caregivers. The consortium
believed that Savvy Caregiver training would be particularly
useful for these caregivers because it teaches caregivers to
use a comprehensive manual and CD-ROM that can help them with
future caregiving problems even if they do not have access to
services in their local communities. Since many rural caregivers
would have difficulty traveling long distances for 2-hour training
sessions over a 6-week period, the Colorado consortium provided Savvy
Caregiver training in longer sessions that were delivered
in one day, or one day a week for two weeks or three weeks.
Preliminary observations from the Colorado ADDGS project indicate
that Savvy Caregiver training is effective in reducing
depression and increasing the use of support groups by rural
caregivers. The 1- 2- and 3-day training formats appear to be
equally effective and make the program available to rural caregivers
who would not be able to receive the training if it were delivered
in shorter sessions over a 6-week period.
For more information about the original Savvy Caregiver program,
contact Kenneth Hepburn, PhD, University of Minnesota, hepbu001@umn.edu
or (612) 625-1678.
For more information about Savvy Caregiver in the ADDGS
program in Colorado, contact Paul Bell, PhD, Coloado State University, plubium@lamar.colostate.edu or
(970) 491-7215. Additionally, the ADDGS National Resource Center completed a case study on Colorado's program. To view the case study, click here.
References:
Ostwald SK, Hepburn KW, Caron W, Burns T, and Mantell R. (1999)
Reducing Caregiver Burden: A Randomized Psychoeducational Intervention
for Caregivers of Persons with Dementia. Gerontologist, 39(3), 299-309.
Hepburn KW, Tornatore J, Center B, and Ostwald SW. (2001) Dementia
Family Caregiver Training: Affecting Beliefs About Caregiving
and Caregiver Outcomes. Journal of the American Geriatrics
Society, 49(4), 450-457.
Hepburn KW, Lewis M, Sherman CW, and Tornatore J. The Savvy
Caregiver Program: Developing and Testing a Transportable Dementia
Family Caregiver Training Program. (2003) Gerontologist 43(6), 908-915.
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