The Impacts of an Educational Program by Using Group Discussion on Perceived Stigma Among the Family Caregivers of People with Alzheimer’s Disease

Background: The objective of the present study was to determine the impacts of an educational program by using group discussion on perceived stigma among family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Methods: This nonequivalent non-randomized controlled trial was performed in 2015. A sample of 66 family caregivers of people with AD was recruited conveniently. The caregivers were non-randomly allocated to a control and an experimental group. Initially, the perceived stigma of all participants was measured by using the Stigma Impact Scale. Then a five-session educational program by using group discussion was held over five weeks for the caregivers in the experimental group. The caregivers in the control group received no intervention. The level of caregivers perceived stress was re-assessed both immediately and one month after the intervention. Results: The difference between the groups in terms of pretest perceived stigma was not statistically significant (P = 0.146). However, immediately and one month after the intervention, the mean score of perceived stigma in the experimental group was significantly lower than in the control group (P 0.05). The results of repeated measures ANOVA for the between-subject factor of the group also showed that the intervention had significant effects on the caregivers’ perceived stigma (P = 0.004). Conclusions: The findings of the present study showed the noticeable effects of the educational program using group discussion on the perceived stigma of family caregivers of people with AD. This finding can denote the importance of experience sharing in the psychological well-being of family caregivers. Through group discussion and experience sharing, caregivers learn the necessary skills for coping with their own problems. Given their effectiveness, educational interventions by using group discussion are recommended to reduce perceived stigma among family caregivers.