Family resiliency, sense of coherence, social support and psychosocial interventions: reducing caregiver burden and determining the quality of life in persons with alzheimer’s disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a progressive, degenerative disorder that attacks the
brain's nerve cells, or neurons, resulting in loss of memory, thinking and language skills,
and results in behavioral changes and lack of communication. Family members and
caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s disease can assume added responsibilities and
stress due to the progressive and degenerative component of this disability and places an added strain on the family system. This study was designed to examine predictors of
quality of life of persons living with AD and to examine caregiver burden and predictors
of quality of life of persons living with AD. This study hopes to empower the caregivers
and test the resiliency model of family stress, sense of coherence and social support while incorporating individual patient and family needs by surveying caregivers involved with working with patients with AD. Specific aims of the study include validating
relationships of the resiliency model while determining the importance of family
resiliency, the sense of coherence, social support and the role of psychosocial
interventions specifically Validation Communication Intervention (VCI), to reduce
caregiver burden and to predict the quality of life in persons with Alzheimer’s disease.