ผลของโปรแกรมส่งเสริมความแข็งแกร่งในชีวิตต่อความเครียดของญาติผู้ดูแลผู้ที่มีภาวะสมองเสื่อม

Abstract

Dementia is a disease which cannot be cured, resulting in continuous dependence on family caregivers and causing them stress from providing endless care. This quasi-experimental research study aimed to evaluate the effect of the resilience-enhancing program on stress among family caregivers of persons with dementia. The sample group consists of caregivers of dementia patients receiving outpatient services at a psychiatric hospital affiliated with the Department of Mental Health in Chiang Mai province, totaling 18 people. The research instruments included: 1) a resilience inventory, 2) a personal information questionnaire, 3) a perceived stress scale, and 4) the resilience-enhancing program on stress among family caregivers of persons with dementia, developed based on Grotberg's (1995) concept of life resilience and organized in a group activity format consisting of 6 activities, each lasting 60 minutes, conducted twice a week for a total of 3 weeks. Data analysis was done using inferential statistics, independent t-test, and non-parametric statistics, with the Mann-Whitney U test for non-independent groups and independent t-test for independent groups. The study found the following results: 1. The average stress score of caregivers of individuals with dementia after receiving the life resilience promotion program for 1 month was significantly lower than before receiving the program, with statistical significance (p < .05). 2. The average stress score of caregivers of individuals with dementia in the group that received the life resilience promotion program was significantly lower than that of the group receiving regular care, with statistical significance (p < .05). These results indicate that the resilience-enhancing program could effectively reduce stress among family caregivers of persons with dementia. Therefore, it is recommended to implement this program to reduce stress in this population in the future.