Coping and adaptation to dementia family caregiving: A pilot study

Family caregivers of Black older adults with dementia are at risk for cognitive decline and premature death. Reducing this risk and filling the void of culturally responsive interventions for caregivers requires the development of participant informed models of care that promote group strengths such as effective coping. In this pilot study, Black family caregivers (n=30) completed a survey comprised of a demographic questionnaire, various measures of function, self-efficacy, social support, and coping. Study findings point to a well-educated population with underlying health concerns such as obesity, hypertension, and diabetes that may be complicated by caregiving stress. Common coping strategies used by participants included spiritual coping (80%), use of past experiences (80%), and information gathering (75%). Clinicians can support dementia family caregivers by promoting spiritual coping and self-care, as well as providing reference resources about respite and managing challenging behaviors. Power analysis suggests a future sample size of 385.