Self-administered intervention for caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease

The purpose of this article is to describe the development and feasibility testing of a Transition Toolkit to support caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease (AD) in dealing with transitions. Using the Medical Research Council (MRC; UK) guidelines for complex intervention development, Step 1 was to develop a theoretical understanding of the likely processes of change, by reviewing existing evidence and theory, and conducting new primary research. Based on Step 1, the intervention was developed with the Alzheimer's Society experts (Step 2), followed by concept mapping of the critical inputs of the intervention with the theoretical understanding (Step 3). A feasibility study was then conducted with 20 caregivers of persons with AD (Step 4) using a mixed methods concurrent design. The preliminary findings of the pilot study were positive with the participants describing the Transition Toolkit as acceptable, easy to use, and having the potential to help deal with transitions.