Evaluation of the effect of the structured caregiver support program on the caregiver burden, psychological well-being and psychological resilience levels of informal caregivers of alzheimer's patients

ABSTRACT Objective: The aim of this study was to establish the Structured Caregiver Support Program (SCSP), designed to support caregivers, and to evaluate the effect on the caregiving burden, psychological well-being and psychological resilience levels of informal caregivers of Alzheimer's patients. Method: A mixed-method research design, comprising both quantitative and qualitative research methods was used in this study. The quantitative part of the study was designed as a randomized controlled experimental study with a pretest-posttest design. Accordingly, 50 caregivers participated in the study, including the intervention group (n = 25) and the control group (n = 25). In the qualitative part of the study, a phenomenological approach was used and three focus group interviews were conducted (n=14). Results: The quantitative findings of the study show that the SCSP produced a statistically significant difference in the intervention group compared to the control group in terms of reducing caregiver burden and improving psychological well-being and psychological resilience levels (p<0.05). The effect sizes obtained from the post-test comparisons between groups ranged from 0.921 to 2.134 and it was concluded that they had a "large" effect size (d > 0.80). In the qualitative findings of the study as a result of thematic analysis, three main themes emerged: "need for an intervention program", "what the intervention program changed", and "evaluation of the intervention program". The qualitative findings highlight the benefits of the SCSP for caregivers in the intervention group, indicating it is an important support service. Conclusion: The SCSP represents an exemplary practice in the field of interventional gerontology. It can be used as a practical intervention program, especially for gerontologists working in health and care services. The SCSP is easy to implement and cost-effective. Key words: Alzheimer, caregiver burden, applied gerontology, interventional gerontology, mixed mehtod research