Combatting the Inevitable: Stress Reduction and the Informal Caregiving Role

The purpose of this quality improvement project is to determine if preparation for the caregiving role reduces stress. The community of caregivers in Arizona have expressed to a caregiving agency that not knowing how to prepare for a personal emergency related to their caregiving duties led to increased stress. The agency created an emergency respite guide and booklet through grant funding regarding this issue. The Transactional Model of Stress and Coping will be the guiding theory for this project. Participants for the study were recruited through flyers in the agency newsletter. Human subject protection was accomplished, and subjects had to be over 18 years old, have no prior caregiving training, have not filled out a respite booklet previously, and be a primary Caregiver for someone. Subjects completed two validated pre-booklet questionnaire tools. The booklet was then sent to the participants to complete, then completed the same two questionnaires after filling out the booklet immediately post, and then 30 days later, along with an evaluation questionnaire. The scores were input into intellectual statistics then analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results for an n of four displayed an overall decrease in stress symptoms and perceived stress after completion of the booklet. If stress is reduced with preparation using an emergency respite booklet, then as a community, we know that preparation for the caregiving role is necessary to reduce stress and improve quality of life.