Family caregiver support groups: spiritual reflections' impact on stress management.

OBJECTIVES: Caregiving for people with neurodegenerative disease (e.g. Alzheimer's disease (AD); frontotemporal dementia (FTD)) is provided primarily by the family care system. Caregiving is taxing and much of the caregiving research is guided by a stress/adaptation theoretical perspective. Within this theoretical model, the role of spirituality in rendering meaning to the caregiver role remains unexplored. We conducted a qualitative analysis of expressions of spirituality and its meaningfulness during the caregiving journey within the context of an online video conferencing support group intervention program.

METHODS: Eighteen AD and six FTD caregivers participated in the Caring for Others evidence-based program consisting of 10 weekly virtual online support group sessions facilitated by experienced gerontological social workers.

RESULTS: Content analysis of the video-recorded group interactions yielded recurrent themes of caregivers' spiritual reflections and their associations with managing caregiver stress responses.

CONCLUSION: The findings inform professional observations of the importance of spiritual beliefs in understanding how caregivers ascribe both positive and negative meanings to critical life events and their management.