powerful tools for caregivers, a group psychoeducational skill-building intervention for family caregivers

Introduction: care providers consistently report negative consequences to their mental health as a direct result of their caregiving responsibilities. specifically, they describe higher levels of distress, mental health problems, and depressive symptoms compared to their non-caregiving matched controls. powerful tools for caregivers (ptc) is a national program that aims to empower caregivers to better care for themselves and enhance their self-efficacy. the purpose of the present study was to determine and quantify the effectiveness of the ptc program through pre/post data analysis. methods: ptc intervention was evaluated at two questionnaire time points: pre-ptc and post-ptc between june 30, 2004 and oct 16, 2013. paired sample t-tests (n=409) were conducted using spss statistics version 22 (ibm corp., armonk, ny). results: ptc increased caregivers who conducted self-care behaviors, who demonstrated self-efficacy, management of depressing emotions and those who used community resources. conclusion: ptc results in caregivers reporting that they are taking better care of themselves, reacting to their emotions in a healthier manner, gaining more confidence in their caregiving abilities and coping skills, and becoming more knowledgeable about receiving assistance from their community resources.