Graduation Semester and Year
Summer 2024
Language
English
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Social Work
Department
Social Work
First Advisor
Kathy Lee
Second Advisor
Noelle Fields
Third Advisor
Sophia Fantus
Abstract
Most people living with dementia in the United States reside at home with informal caregivers. Yet research regarding non-pharmacological interventions for persons living with dementia is mainly conducted in institutional settings. Also, research into the impacts of interventions for persons with dementia on informal caregivers is scarce. This scoping review aims to map the breadth of literature on outcomes of informal caregivers delivering home-based interventions to people with dementia through the lens of the stress process model. Using the Arskey & O’Malley framework, an initial database search yielded 3,977 studies of which 22 were included in this review. Results revealed a high degree of heterogeneity in research with ten different types of home-based interventions delivered by informal caregivers to persons with dementia. Nine out of 10 types showed some positive benefits for caregivers. No intervention had only negative impacts on caregivers. In general, flexible, cost-efficient, easy to implement interventions are preferred by caregivers. While home-based interventions for persons living with dementia seem to have limited impacts on informal caregivers, more research is needed, especially regarding persons of color. Future research would benefit from longer studies with larger sample sizes.
Keywords
Dementia, Caregiver, Informal, Intervention, Home-based
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences | Social Work
License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Recommended Citation
Meller, Andrea H., "Documented Outcomes of Informal Caregivers Delivering Home-based Interventions to Persons Living with Dementia: A Scoping Review" (2024). Social Work Theses. 132.
https://mavmatrix.uta.edu/socialwork_theses/132