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Helping families keep patients with Alzheimer's disease at home often seems a hopeless challenge. This randomized trial suggests that real gains can be made by providing family caregivers with support and counseling.
Researchers randomized 206 spouses of patients with Alzheimer's disease to control or intervention groups. Caregivers in the intervention group had individual and family counseling sessions aimed at promoting communication among family members, teaching techniques for problem solving, and managing troublesome patient behavior. After four months of counseling, the caregivers joined support groups that met weekly; counselors were available for crisis management at any time.
The median time from enrollment to nursing-home placement …