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| Topic of meetings | Specific objectives | Content |
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| Session 1. Getting to know one another | (i) Introduce participants to objectives, content, and course of program
(ii) Allow participants to share caregiver experience in nursing home settings relative to their health | (i) Participants’ expectations
(ii) Presentation of program
(iii) Exchanges among caregivers |
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| Session 2. How to feel good with your relative | Improve caregivers’ perceived competence in interactions with relatives | Impact of illness on relative’s behaviour: perception of sources of stress; ways of improving communication |
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| Sessions 3 and 4. How to communicate your point of view to staff | Improve caregivers’ ability to express opinions regarding care provided relatives and to take part in decisions concerning them | (i) Relations with staff
(ii) Problem solving
(iii) Empowerment
(iv) Rights of family members
(v) Complaint-handling procedure |
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| Sessions 5 and 6. How to avoid emotional turmoil | Enable caregivers to appraise caregiving experience differently and to cope with difficult emotions | Thought-modification strategy (e.g., reframing a difficult situation) |
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| Sessions 7 and 8. How to deal with small losses on a daily basis and prepare for the eventual loss of your relative | (i) Facilitate awareness of many losses caused by relative’s illness and improve caregiver ability to cope with these losses
(ii) Enable caregivers to cope with eventual loss of relative | (i) Losses caused by illness
(ii) Grieving process
(iii) Strategies for dealing with losses and grieving: thought modification
(iv) Preparing for eventual loss of relative |
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| Session 9. How to reorganize your life after placement of your relative | Increase caregiver self-confidence in ability to reorganize life and to take care of themselves | (i) Reorganizing one’s life
(ii) Strategies for taking care of oneself |
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| Session 10. How to identify and call on your support network | Increase caregiver ability to call on support network to meet own needs | How to ask for support |
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