Military Stress-Busting Program for Family Caregivers

Major injuries sustained by active duty personnel are life-changing. The impact of injuries significantly affects the injured service member (wounded warrior) and the family caregivers who provide assistance with activities of daily living. The role of caregiver is one for which family members are rarely adequately prepared. Caregiving is known to be a stressful journey, taking a great toll in all realms: physical, emotional, social, financial, and spiritual. Although studies have shown that interventions can decrease the negative impact of caregiving, there are few formal interventions to meet the needs of military family caregivers of wounded warriors. The overall purpose of the proposed Military Stress-Busting Program (MSBP) for Family Caregivers is to improve the quality of life of military family caregivers by providing a program that helps them manage their stress and cope with their lives.  This will be accomplished by adapting the evidence-based Stress-Busting Program (SBP) for Family Caregivers that was developed in the civilian sector.  This intervention consists of a 9-week psychoeducational program provided in a support group setting that meets 90 minutes/week. The essential components of the SBP are education, stress management, problem solving, and support. The proposed study could provide the basis for the long-term goal of disseminating a stress management program for military family caregivers at multiple military settings. 

The RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation, and Maintenance) is a model for planning and evaluating health behavior interventions. Specific aims based on this framework include 1) Adapt the Stress-Busting Program to meet the needs of military caregivers,  2) Reach: Determine the extent to which the MSBP attracts the intended participants, 3) Effectiveness: Determine the impact of the MSBP on quality of life of family caregivers, 4) Adoption: Assess the factors affecting the adoption of the SBPB in a military setting, 5) Implementation: Assess the consistency of  delivery of the SBP in a military setting, and 6) Maintenance: Determine the requirements needed by a military medical system to maintain delivery of the SBP caregivers.

Final Report is available on NTRL: https://ntrl.ntis.gov/NTRL/dashboard/searchResults/titleDetail/PB2014106...