FAMILY CAREGIVER EDUCATION AND SUPPORT PROGRAMS - USING HUMANISTIC APPROACHES TO EVALUATE PROGRAM EFFECTS

This article critiques previous caregiver evaluation efforts and descr ibes the evaluation of an education and support program for family car egivers in. British Columbia, Canada. Thirty family caregivers, predom inantly adult daughters caring for parents with dementia, participated in one of three facilitator-led groups offering the Supporting Caregi vers in British Columbia program. They met weekly for 2 hr over a 10-w eek period. A rich array of qualitative data indicated that caregivers perceived the program to have numerous positive effects on their care giving, thus demonstrating the importance of learner perspectives and experiences in the evaluation process. The study offers a distinct alt ernative to experimental and quasi-experimental designs for evaluating educational programs.