Tailoring psychological interventions for ethnically diverse dementia caregivers

Alzheimer's disease and other dementias are common disorders that widely affect older adults of all races and ethnicities. Although there has been considerable research focusing on the stress experienced by family caregivers of patients with dementia, there has been little work to guide clinicians in tailoring interventions to the special needs of racially and ethnically diverse families. This paper reviews guidelines for creating culturally competent interventions, as well as reviewing the literature on racial, ethnic, and cultural differences in the stress associated with caregiving for a family member with dementia. The paper then presents three intervention programs (adapted from existing treatments) that were tailored to be sensitive to cultural issues in care-giving among African Americans, Cuban Americans, and Mexican Americans. Results and directions for future research gathered from these intervention programs are presented and implications for clinicians and researchers are discussed.