Abstract for Project HOPE Study

Project HOPE Study The terms informal caregiver and family caregiver refer to unpaid individuals such as family members, friends and neighbors who provide care and assistance to someone else who is incapacitated and needs help. In the year 2004, there were an estimated 591,666 family caregivers in the state of Tennessee. These Tennessee caregivers provided approximately 634 million hours of care valued at over six billion dollars (National Family Caregivers Association and Family Caregiver Alliance, 2006). Anticipating a need for training of family caregivers and in an effort to meet needs of impaired elders and family caregivers in Knox County, Knoxville area Senior Citizens Home Assistance Services (SCHAS) applied for and received Knox County grant monies to implement a Family Caregiver Training Program (FCTP) from July 2009 to July 2010. This training program “will offer training for family caregivers, respite care for loved ones during training, and training resources for residents in Knox County and the East Tennessee region” (Senior Citizens Home Assistance Services, Inc, 2009, p. 3). Training will be conducted at the SCHAS managed Renaissance Terrace assisted living site. The researchers for this study will partner with SCHAS to assist with evaluation of the new program. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study with data triangulation is to investigate the effectiveness of the Family Caregiver Training Program (FCTP) offered by the Knoxville area Senior Citizens Home Assistance Services (SCHAS) agency. Both the actual training program itself and the impact of the training program on family caregivers will be evaluated.