Mason Caregivers Aiming for Resilience, Empowerment, and Support Study: Assessing Family Caregiver Burden Post-Intervention.

Family caregivers of older adults living with dementia are known to experience higher burden levels. This empirical study conducted a sub-group analysis of burden levels of 97 family caregivers by the dementia severity of care recipients. Family caregivers were assessed before and after the 9-week Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers (SBP). Family caregivers of older adults living with severe dementia had the highest baseline Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) score of 27.7 which decreased to 25.0 ( < .05); family caregivers of those living with moderate dementia had a baseline ZBI score of 24.3 which decreased to 20.4 ( < .01); and family caregivers of those living with mild dementia had the lowest baseline ZBI score of 21.0, which decreased to 18.0 ( < .01). The SBP intervention was associated with a 15% reduction in burden scores for family caregivers of older adults living with dementia.