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About the project
Alzheimer Society of New Brunswick (ASNB) offered a virtual dementia care training called Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) Community to friends and family members who were caregivers for People Living with Dementia (PLWD) to help them respond to behaviors associated with dementia. Informal caregivers independently completed 4 virtual training modules then participated in a virtual interactive follow-up session facilitated by certified GPA coaches. The training aimed to provide informal caregivers with knowledge and confidence when responding to behaviours associated with dementia. This project evaluated caregivers’ ability to manage dementia-related behaviours and their satisfaction with the training. It also assessed the training’s impact on the responsive behaviours of PLWD and their hospital visits.
Informal caregiver participants were 56 women, 4 men, and 1 person who preferred to self-describe gender. Participants were a mix of both anglophones (47 people) and francophones (14 people).
Conclusions and lessons learned
- Informal caregivers gained confidence in supporting PLWD through GPA Community training.
- Caregivers felt supported by the community of participants who shared their experience of caring for people living with dementia.
- After the study period, staff members from two home support agencies were trained as GPA Community certified coaches, which will allow for future program delivery.
Recommendations
- Offer in-person training for informal caregivers to help reduce loneliness through community support and enable hands-on skills practice.
- Create opportunities for informal caregivers to maintain their community of support after the training ends.
- Feedback gathered in focus groups was used to make recommendations to AGE Inc., the organization that designed the GPA Community training, so the program can be adapted for informal caregivers.
To learn more read the complete project findings (204 KB)