Support Group Participation and Its Relationship to Caregiver Burden and Quality of Sleep Among Caregivers

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between the participation in an eight-week caregiver support group, level of caregiver burden, and quality of sleep among caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias. The main objective of this study was to analyze any relationships between support group participation, caregiver burden, and quality of sleep among caregivers. Another objective was to identify potential interventions that could improve caregiver sleep quality and reduce levels of caregiver burden. Two separate eight-week caregiver support groups were developed and implemented. Data was collected in the form of a pre-test questionnaire during the first support group session, as well as a post-test questionnaire during the final group session. Findings illustrate that an eight-week caregiver intervention was shown to possibly help improve sleep quality for one case study, as well as slightly decrease level of caregiver burden for another case study. Future interventions that are able to include components related the issues of poor sleep quality and caregiver burden show potential in benefiting caregivers and possibly improving their quality of sleep and decreasing their level of caregiver burden.