Powerful Tools for Caregivers Online: An Innovative Approach to Support Employees

Abstract

SUMMARY Family caregiving is a large and growing concern in the American workplace. This article describes a pilot program aimed at enhancing the self-efficacy and minimizing the distress of employees who care for relatives with chronic medical conditions. A six-week, community-based education program was adapted to enable these family care-givers to take part in an interactive web-based program. Elements of this innovative program are described along with results of evaluations completed by 49 participants at 3 points in time. This exploratory study found the web-based program to be an effective intervention for employees who are family caregivers and holds promise as an attractive alternative to the traditional classroom approach to caregiver education and support.