Pilot projects

To incorporate the perspectives and experiences of family caregivers of children with obesity, the KidFit Health and Wellness Clinic, a paediatric weight management programme, embedded feedback opportunities into various stages of programme development. Caregivers were eligible to participate if their children had completed initial 4-week group-based pilot programming or were currently receiving treatment in 10 or 12 week group-based programming. Data were collected through feedback session discussions, audio-recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.

Aims: To test the feasibility of surveying bereaved next-of-kin in the South Island about their perceptions of end-of-life care for people over 18 years of age; to report results; and to identify issues for future research.; Method: The study used the VOICES (Views of Informal Carers Evaluation of Services) questionnaire from the UK, adapted for use in Aotearoa New Zealand. Identification of next-of-kin for all South Island deaths September-November 2017 was undertaken by a commercial firm specialising in such work.

Background: Face-to-face/group education for palliative caregivers is successful, but relies on caregivers travelling, being absent from the patient, and rigid timings. This presents inequities for those in rural locations. Aim: To design and test an innovative distance-learning educational package (PrECEPt: PalliativE Caregivers Education Package). Design: Single-arm mixed-method feasibility proof-of-concept trial (ACTRN12616000601437).

Background: Informal caregivers of post-stroke patients usually undergo high levels of pain and stress and have a reduced quality of life.; Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of two home ergonomic interventions aimed at reducing pain intensity and perceived stress and enhancing the quality of life in informal caregivers of chronic post-stroke patients.; Methods: A randomized single-blind controlled clinical trial was conducted, with a sample of 33 informal caregivers of patients with stroke.

BACKGROUND: Problematic communication among providers, patients, and their family members can affect the quality of patient care, causing stress to all parties involved and decreased opportunities for collaborative decision making. OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this article is to present one case from a pilot study of a family caregiver intervention focused on communication. METHODS: The nurse-delivered communication intervention includes a written communication guide for family caregivers, as well as a one-time nurse communication coaching call.

The aim of this study was to develop and test the construct and content validity, internal consistency of the Family‐Carer Diabetes Management Self‐Efficacy Scale (F‐DMSES). A sample of 70 Thai individuals who cared for those living with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) in a rural community in Thailand was included in the study. Data were collected by a questionnaire survey in January 2014. The F‐DMSES was initially derived from the DMSES, with subsequent forward and backward translations from and to English and Thai languages.

Background: Families living with a person with mental illness can experience distress requiring therapeutic interventions.

Purpose/Objectives: To explore whether repetitive negative thinking (RNT) mediates the pathway between subscales of caregiver burden and depressive symptoms. Design: Cross-sectional pilot study. Setting: Bone marrow unit at the University of Louisville Hospital in Kentucky and caregiver support organizations in Louisville. Sample: 49 current cancer caregivers who were primarily spouses or partners of individuals with lymphoma or leukemia and provided care for a median of 30 hours each week for 12 months.

Objective: Many difficult decisions are made in the inpatient hospital setting regarding the daily care of persons with dementia (PWDs). Incongruent perceptions of the PWD's care values limit the family caregiver's ability to make surrogate decisions. The objectives of this pilot study were to describe and identify determinants of incongruent perceptions in the hospital setting. Methods: Using multilevel modeling (MLM), we examined cross-sectional data collected from 42 PWD-family caregiver dyads.

Background: Family caregivers of cancer patients often experience an impaired quality of life (QOL) and emotional distress as a result of their caregiving duties, which may potentially influence the quality of care of their care recipients. The COPE (Caregivers of cancer Outpatients' Psycho-Education support group therapy) intervention was developed as a response to the lack of work done among family caregivers of ambulatory cancer patients in Asia.