Open AccessImproving the Quality of Life of Family Caregivers of People with Alzheimer’s Disease through Virtual Communities of Practice: A Quasiexperimental Study
Author(s) -
Montse Romero-Mas,
Anna Ramon-Aribau,
Dyego Leandro Bezerra de Souza,
Andrew Cox,
Beni Gómez-Zúñiga
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
international journal of alzheimer's disease
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.657
H-Index - 49
eISSN - 2090-8024
pISSN - 2090-0252
DOI - 10.1155/2021/8817491
Subject(s) - dementia , quality of life (healthcare) , psychological intervention , family caregivers , intervention (counseling) , psychology , the internet , literacy , quality (philosophy) , health literacy , disease , gerontology , medicine , health care , world wide web , computer science , psychiatry , philosophy , epistemology , economics , psychotherapist , economic growth , pedagogy , pathology
Caring for a person with dementia burdens family caregivers, and there is a close negative relationship between this burden and their quality of life (QoL). Research suggests that caregivers' main needs are information and training about the disease and support from others experiencing the same situation, and Internet interventions hold considerable promise for meeting these needs. Virtual communities of practice (VCoPs) are Internet frameworks to share knowledge where members collaborate and achieve a sense of trust in the community. This paper seeks to evaluate the impact of participating in a VCoP (developed through an App) on the QoL of caregivers to people with Alzheimer's. Results show QoL before and after the intervention changed significantly. The impact of VCoP on caregivers' overall QoL is moderated by age and relation with the person with Alzheimer's, specifically those over 65, and spouses. VCoPs allow interaction and knowledge sharing among caregivers which provide them mainly with information and support from peers helping them to meet their needs. Furthermore, caregivers' QoL did not decrease when their relative deteriorated functionally, which could be due to the participation in VCoP. Although we found significant pre- and post differences in caregivers' health literacy, we must report the ambiguous result that this variable only impacts on QoL's physical domain. Participants also reported that they had a positive experience because the App was perceived to be a useful tool, because they could manage their own participation and they met peers and felt less lonely. Results suggest that participation in a VCoP impacts positively on caregivers' QoL.