Effects of simulated family nursing on patients with Alzheimer disease and their caregivers

Objective: To investigate the effects of simulated family nursing on patients with Alzheimer disease and their caregivers.Methods: Eighty-two patients with Alzheimer disease were evenly divided into study group and control group.The study group received simulated family nursing mode and the control group routine nursing.The mini-mental state(MMSE) and the activities of daily living(ADL) of the two groups were evaluated before intervention,6 months and 12 months after intervention.The caregivers were investigated by the Symptom Checklist and trait coping style questionnaire.Results: The difference of the total MMSE score and ADL score in the 0th and 6th month was not statistically significant between the study group and the control group(P 0.05);the difference was statistically significant in the 12th month(P 0.05).The scores of the caregivers in the study group and the control group was significantly different in the 12th month(P 0.05);the scores were significantly different between the two groups(P 0.05 and P 0.01).The somatization,depression,anxiety and negative response of the caregivers of patients with Alzheimer disease in the study group were negatively correlated with MMSE scores,and positively correlated with ADL scores(P 0.05).Conclusions: The simulated family nursing could reduce the depression,anxiety and negative coping style of the caregivers of the Alzheimer patients and delay the progression of the disease.