The proposed study will examine the effects of a home-based problem-solving intervention for family caregivers of women with physical disability. The care recipients and their caregivers will be recruited and randomly assigned to a problem-solving intervention group (n=60 dyads) or a control group (n=60 dyads). Caregivers assigned to the problem solving intervention will be seen in face-to-face training sessions with an Interventionist in their homes in the first month of the project, and again at four-month, eight month, and twelve month intervals. Problem-solving training for the intervention group will also occur during monthly telephone interactions with the Interventionist. Caregivers assigned to the control group will receive educational materials and monthly telephone contacts from the Project Nurse; they will not receive problem-solving training. Standard educational materials regarding disability and caregiver issues will be mailed to participants in both groups. A Data Collection Specialist will assess caregiver and care recipient adjustment in face-to-face assessments conducted prior to activity in either the intervention or control group; subsequent assessments will be repeated at four month, eight month, and twelve month intervals. Caregiver problem-solving abilities will also be measured. Structural equation modeling and other regression/inferential analyses will be used to examine the predicted effects of problem solving training on caregiver depression, health complaints, caregiver burden, and life satisfaction over the year. The proposed project will: a) demonstrate how caregiver problem-solving abilities mediate the relationship between care giving duties and care recipient adjustment to caregiver health, depression, and life satisfaction and (b) evaluate the effectiveness of a home-based, problem-solving intervention for family caregivers. This information will help us (a) identify family caregivers who are at risk for adverse emotional and health outcomes, (b) evaluate the effectiveness of problem solving intervention for family caregivers, and (c) determine the characteristics of caregivers who respond favorably to a home-based problem-solving intervention.
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