Assisted Vacations for Men With Dementia and Their Caregiving Spouses: Evaluation of Health-Related Effects

Purpose: In this study, we conducted the first evaluation of assisted vacations for persons with dementia and their caregivers in the field of caregiving research.Design and Methods: We used a quasi-experimental, two-group, repeated measures design with two measuring times (preintervention, 3-month follow-up) to examine whether assisted vacations lead to a reduction in physical complaints and symptoms of depression in family caregivers. The sample consisted of 29 caregiving wives who were providing at-home care for husbands suffering from dementia. We selected the participants in the control group from a waiting list. Outcome measurements were made with the Giessen Subjective Complaints List and the Beck Depression Inventory. Results: The overall emotional and physical states of the participants in the intervention group showed significant improvements in comparison with those of the control group 3 months after the first interview. Implications: The results show that assisted vacations can have both immediate and longer lasting positive effects on participants' health. Assisted vacations can therefore be a way of diminishing the risk of stress disorders for caregiving spouses. Making assisted vacations available to people with dementia and their caregivers is a worthwhile goal for community support facilities working to reduce caregiver burden.