Effectiveness of a structured caregiver support program for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease: A mixed methods study.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the Structured Caregiver Support Program (SCSP) on caregiver burden, psychological well-being and psychological resilience of informal caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease. A mixed-method research design, comprising both quantitative and qualitative research methods was used in this study. The quantitative part of the study was designed as a randomized controlled study with a pretest-posttest design. In the qualitative part of the study, a phenomenological approach was used and three focus group interviews were conducted. The quantitative findings of the study show that the SCSP produced a statistically significant difference in the intervention group compared to the control group in terms of reducing caregiver burden and improving psychological well-being and psychological resilience levels (p < 0.05). The effect sizes (Cohen's d) obtained from the post-test comparisons between groups ranged from 0.921 to 2.134, indicating a "large" effect size. In the qualitative findings of the study as a result of thematic analysis, three main themes emerged: "need for an intervention program", "changes brought about by the intervention program", and "evaluation of the intervention program". The SCSP is easy to implement and cost-effective. It can be used as a practical intervention program, especially for professionals working in health and care services.