Table 2.
Caregiver Confidence, Burden, Anxiety, and Depression Over Time Among Website Users.a
| Baseline, Mean (SD) | 3 Months, Mean (SD) | 6 Months, Mean (SD) | P Value at 3 Months | P Value at 6 Months | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caregiver Confidence in Sign/Symptom Management (range 1-5) | 3.8 (0.6) | 4.1 (0.7) | 4.2 (0.5) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Knowledge about signs/symptoms (5 items)b | 3.7 (0.9) | 4.1 (0.6) | 4.2 (0.6) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Management of cognitive signs/symptoms (6 items)c | 3.6 (0.9) | 4.0 (0.8) | 4.1 (0.7) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Management of medical signs/symptoms (4 items)d | 3.7 (0.9) | 4.1 (0.7) | 4.2 (0.7) | <.001 | <.001 |
| General medical management/responsiveness (10 items)e | 3.9 (0.7) | 4.2 (0.6) | 4.3 (0.6) | <.001 | <.001 |
| Burden (range 0-48) | 22.8 (7.2) | 22.4 (8.6) | 21.9 (7.8) | .60 | .58 |
| Personal strain (range 0-36) | 17.0 (7.1) | 17.1 (6.1) | 16.7 (6.7) | .96 | .87 |
| Role strain (range 0-12) | 5.7 (2.5) | 5.3 (2.7) | 5.2 (2.6) | .08 | .047 |
| Generalized anxiety (range 0-21) | 7.9 (5.1) | 7.2 (6.9) | 7.1 (6.2) | .31 | .22 |
| Depression (range 0-27) | 5.6 (4.8) | 5.0 (4.9) | 5.2 (5.5) | .20 | .62 |
Abbreviation: SD, standard deviation.
aP values are based on the Sidak adjustment for multiple pairwise comparisons that were produced by a repeated-measures mixed model with a random effect for caregiver.
bFive areas included knowing enough about dementia-related behaviors, mood changes, mental status changes, new medical problems/events, and problems associated with ongoing chronic disease. Higher scores are favorable.
cSix behaviors included deciding what to do about dementia-related behaviors, taking care of dementia-related behaviors, deciding what to do when mental status changes occur, taking care of mental status changes when they occur, deciding what to do when mood changes occur, and taking care of mood changes when they occur. Higher scores are favorable.
dFour behaviors included deciding what to do when new medical problems occur, taking care of new medical problems when they occur, deciding what to do when problems associated with chronic diseases occur, and taking care of problems associated with chronic diseases when they occur. Higher scores are favorable.
eTen behaviors included gathering information a provider would want, making the decision to talk to a medical provider, talking to a medical provider, taking vital signs, understanding vital signs, assessing for pain, understanding what to do when in pain, assessing for dehydration, understanding what to do when dehydrated, and managing medical problems at home. Higher scores are favorable.