Skip to main content
NCBI home page
American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias logoLink to American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias
. 2007 Feb-Mar;22(1):14–19. doi: 10.1177/1533317506295857

Effectiveness of Support Groups for People With Mild to Moderate Alzheimer’s Disease: An Evaluative Survey

Lisa Snyder 1, Cecily Jenkins 2, Liesbeth Joosten 3
PMCID: PMC10697201  PMID: 17533997

Abstract

Support groups can provide a forum for socialization and learning for people with mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of these groups based on participant feedback. A survey questionnaire was administered to 70 support group participants with Alzheimer’s disease from 8 well-established groups across the United States. Participants reported on the educational value, positive socialization, and improved ability to cope with symptoms and to accept the diagnosis as a result of participating in a support group. These reported outcomes suggest the importance of creating more sensitive measures to better evaluate the effectiveness of support groups and other educational or social support programs for persons with dementia.

Keywords: support groups, early-stage Alzheimer’s, evaluation

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (59.4 KB).

Contributor Information

Lisa Snyder, Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of California, San Diego, lsnyder@ucsd.edu .

Cecily Jenkins, Shiley-Marcos Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center, University of California, San Diego.

Liesbeth Joosten, Department of Medical Psychology/Geriatric, University Medical Center St Radboud, Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

References

  1. Harris P, Keady J. Living with early onset dementia—exploring the experience and developing evidence-based guidelines for practice. Alzheimers Care Q. 2004;5: 111-122. [Google Scholar]
  2. Clare L. We’ll fight it as long as we can: coping with the onset of Alzheimer’s disease. Aging Ment Health. 2002; 6: 139-148. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Phinney A. Living with the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease. In: Harris P, ed. The Person With Alzheimer’s: Pathways to Understanding the Experience. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2002:49-74. [Google Scholar]
  4. Snyder L. The lived experience of Alzheimer’s: understanding the feelings and subjective accounts of persons with the disease. Alzheimers Care Q: 2001;2: 8-22. [Google Scholar]
  5. Yale R, Snyder L. The experience of support groups for persons with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease and their families. In: Harris P, ed. The Person With Alzheimer’s Disease: Pathways to Understanding the Experience. Baltimore, Md: Johns Hopkins University Press; 2002:228-245. [Google Scholar]
  6. LaBarge E, Trtanj F. A support group for people in the early stages of dementia of the Alzheimer’s type. J Appl Gerontol. 1995;14: 289-301. [Google Scholar]
  7. Reichlin R. Integrated group approaches with the early stage Alzheimer’s patient and family. In: Duffy M, ed. Handbook of Counseling and Psychotherapy With Older Adults. New York, NY: John Wiley; 1999:166-181. [Google Scholar]
  8. Snyder L, Quayhagen M, Shepherd S, Bower D. Supportive seminar groups: an intervention for early stage dementia patients. Gerontologist. 1995;35: 691-695. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Yale R. Developing Support Groups for Individuals With Early-Stage Alzheimer’s Disease: Planning, Implementation, and Evaluation. Baltimore, Md: Health Professions Press; 1995. [Google Scholar]
  10. Zarit SH, Femia EE, Watson J, Rice-Oeschger L, Kakos B. Memory club: a group intervention for people with early-stage dementia and their care partners. Gerontologist. 2004;44: 262-269. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Yeh C, Truscott T, Snyder L. The benefits of a support group for persons with Alzheimer’s disease. Alzheimers Care Q. 2001;2: 42-46. [Google Scholar]
  12. Snyder L. Speaking Our Minds: Personal Reflections From Individuals With Alzheimer’s. New York, NY: W. H. Freeman; 2000. [Google Scholar]
  13. Ishizaki J, Meguro K, Ishii H, et al. The effects of group work therapy in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Int J Geriatr Psychiatr. 2000;15: 532-535. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Morhardt D, Johnson N. Effects of memory loss support groups for persons with early stage dementia and their families. Paper presented at: Gerontological Society of America Annual Meeting; November 1998; Philadelphia, Pa. [Google Scholar]
  15. Quayhagen, MP, Quayhagen, M, Corbeil, RR, Hendrix, RC, Jackson, JE, Snyder, L, Bower, D: Coping with dementia: Evaluation of four nonpharmacologic interventions. International Psychogeriatrics. 2000: 12(2); 249-265. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Logsdon RG, McCurry SM, Teri L, Hunter P. Benefits of early-stage Alzheimer’s support groups. Poster presented at: Annual Conference of the Gerontological Society of America; November 21, 2005; Miami, Fla. [Google Scholar]
  17. Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR. Mini-Mental State: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res. 1975;12: 189-198. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Logsdon R, Gibbons LE, McCurry SM, Teri L. Quality of life in adults with cognitive impairment. Psychosom Med. 2002;64: 510-519. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Feinberg LF, Whitlatch CJ, Tucke S. Making Hard Choices: Respecting Both Voices. San Francisco, Calif: Family Caregiver Alliance; 2000. [Google Scholar]

Articles from American Journal of Alzheimer's Disease and Other Dementias are provided here courtesy of SAGE Publications

RESOURCES