1. CRITICAL EVALUATION OF THE SUPPORT GROUP PILOT FOR ELDERLY PEOPLE

2. The objectives for the support group of the elderly people A. The family caregivers expressed two main objectives: 1) A possibility to meet other caregivers regularly in a peer group. 2) To find someone who was interested in the health and the strength of the caregivers. B. The administrative group of the project specified the following objectives: 3) To reinforce the strength of the caregivers. 4) To support the capacity of the participants' in the activities of daily living.

3. The support group activities in practice 1) Group meetings: once a month, à 3 hrs, totally 20 times. The program: Introduction to the subject and discussion Physical exercises Coffee break Optionally training in the swimming pool/ practice of the nursing skills/ discussions about the actual topics 2) Common program: A lecture given by a physician and Christmas parties 3) An individual plan for maintaining the health status, and for a personal health training program

4. Practical evaluation Robson (2001) co-operational and consultative by nature the focus is on practical aspects the model is suitable for measuring the level the goals have been attained to, or for producing information beneficial for the decision-making authorities.

5. The evaluation task and the data TASK: 1. What kind of needs does the support group respond to? 2. What are the effects of the support group activities experienced by the caregivers and their care-receivers? DATA: the descriptive interim report and final report of the project the documented interviews the diaries kept by the care givers the findings obtained by the preliminary- and follow-up measurements done to the acting parties in the project

6. The groups

7. Pretests 1) The caregivers: physical examination “Screen for Caregiver Burden” (SCB) – test health interview 2) The care-receivers: self-estimated health self-estimated capacity in the activities of daily living ”Functional Independence Measure” (FIM)

8. Follow-up tests after 1 year and 2 years the same tests as in pre-tests + caregivers' subjective sense of strength checking-up of the programs of individual health maintenance and fitness training

9. Functional independence of care receivers in 2001 (n=29), 2002 (n=24) and 2003 (n=16); (FIM- scale)

10. Experienced burden of caregivers

11. Caregiver burden in 2001 (n=29), 2002 (n=29) and 2003 (n=26)

12. The results The experienced burden decreased during the follow-up although the health of the carereceivers decreased at the same time. The following variables were cross tabled with the burden: –the support given by relatives –the length of the care giving –the reason, why a person had started to be a family caregiver –living in the same household –being employed –the amount of the funding paid to the care giver These variables had no connection to the burden The main explanation was the peer support group