Recommended and reported use of communication strategies in Alzheimer caregiving

Individuals with Alzheimer disease experience cognitive and behavioral impairments that affect their ability to communicate. In an effort to compensate for these declines, a number of communication strategies have been recommended in the literature for Alzheimer disease caregivers. These include recommendations for caregivers to modify their language behavior and/or the context of communication. The purpose of this study was to (1) review the Alzheimer disease caregiving literature and identify communication strategies commonly recommended for family caregivers and (2) determine how often caregivers report using these strategies and how effective they feel each is in facilitating communication. A review of the literature identified 10 recurring communication strategies. A questionnaire was constructed that asked caregivers to report on the use and efficacy of these 10 strategies. Twenty family (spouse) caregivers of persons diagnosed with Alzheimer disease completed the questionnaire. The results show that caregivers perceived using the 10 strategies, although the strategies appearing most frequently in the literature were not necessarily the ones used most often by caregivers. A positive correlation was observed between caregivers' perceived use of strategies and their effectiveness. Use and efficacy of a strategy did not significantly vary as a function of dementia severity or the gender of the caregiver. The findings provide evidence that caregivers are aware of their communication behavior and modify it in ways that they think improve communication with their spouse.