Caregivers of persons with dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, are vulnerable to experiencing high and chronic stress which could detrimentally affect their health and well-being over time. This could occur when they are not able to engage adaptive strategies to self-moderate their behavioral and emotional response to various stressors and hardships, in caring for people living with dementia. Persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia tend to be afflicted by cognition deficits, behavioral problems, and emotional disorders with disease progression and their caregivers may not be equipped to manage such challenging symptoms. This chapter aims to explore the efficacy of SDT-based mindfulness training in reducing the burden and stress in family caregivers of persons with dementia. A scoping review methodology was employed to map the field of SDT-mindfulness in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Research databases with peer-reviewed journal articles covering this domain were searched. A total of eight empirical articles were reviewed. Interpretation of the eight reviewed articles was categorized as SDT-based interventions and cross-sectional studies. Findings of these eight studies suggest that mindfulness potentially reduces the stress and burden in caregivers, enhancing their well-being and quality of life. Hence, the provision of SDT-mindfulness training to caregivers of persons with dementia may demonstrate a range of benefits, including stress reduction and mitigation of depressive symptoms. The implications of this review and limitations were discussed, including recommendations to improve and advance research in this field.

错误:搜索内容不能为空,请输入英文关键词
错误:关键词超出字数限制,请精简
高级检索

Exploring Mindfulness in Caregivers of Persons with Dementia: A Perspective from Self-Determination Theory

  • Betsy Ng,
  • Gloria Ho

摘要

Caregivers of persons with dementia, such as Alzheimer’s disease, are vulnerable to experiencing high and chronic stress which could detrimentally affect their health and well-being over time. This could occur when they are not able to engage adaptive strategies to self-moderate their behavioral and emotional response to various stressors and hardships, in caring for people living with dementia. Persons with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementia tend to be afflicted by cognition deficits, behavioral problems, and emotional disorders with disease progression and their caregivers may not be equipped to manage such challenging symptoms. This chapter aims to explore the efficacy of SDT-based mindfulness training in reducing the burden and stress in family caregivers of persons with dementia. A scoping review methodology was employed to map the field of SDT-mindfulness in dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Research databases with peer-reviewed journal articles covering this domain were searched. A total of eight empirical articles were reviewed. Interpretation of the eight reviewed articles was categorized as SDT-based interventions and cross-sectional studies. Findings of these eight studies suggest that mindfulness potentially reduces the stress and burden in caregivers, enhancing their well-being and quality of life. Hence, the provision of SDT-mindfulness training to caregivers of persons with dementia may demonstrate a range of benefits, including stress reduction and mitigation of depressive symptoms. The implications of this review and limitations were discussed, including recommendations to improve and advance research in this field.