Promoting healthy lifestyles among spousal family caregivers (Family FINGER)

Population ageing is leading to a growing need for care. Family caregivers in particular have an important caring responsibility in society, but they are also at increased risk of stress, depression and declines in both cognitive functioning and lifestyle habits. The successful FINGER study conducted in Finland has shown that cognitive functioning can be maintained through a multidomain lifestyle intervention.

This joint project by THL and the University of Eastern Finland adapts the previously developed FINGER intervention model and creates a new Family FINGER model together with family caregivers. The project includes qualitative interviews and examines the factors that enable or hinder health-promoting lifestyles among family caregivers. In addition, the project investigates the effects of the Family FINGER model on family caregivers’ mental health, quality of life and cognitive functioning using quantitative data, as well as the cost-effectiveness of the model.

Goals

To develop a Family FINGER lifestyle model tailored for family caregivers in collaboration with family caregivers.
To identify factors that promote or hinder health-supporting lifestyles in the everyday life of family care.
To assess the effects of the Family FINGER model on family caregivers’ mental health, quality of life and cognitive functioning.
To examine the cost-effectiveness of the model from the perspective of service use.

Implementation

The Family FINGER project will be carried out using several complementary research methods. The project will collect cross-sectional data through an electronic survey and conduct thematic interviews with older family caregivers and the professionals working with them. Alongside these, a systematic literature review will be carried out to assess the effects of family care on family caregivers’ cognitive functioning.

At the core of the project is a one-year multidomain lifestyle intervention adapted for family caregivers and based on the earlier FINGER model. The intervention includes lifestyle counselling, physical exercise training, cognitive exercises, social activities, and intensified monitoring of cardiovascular risk factors. The feasibility and effects of the intervention model will be evaluated using quantitative and qualitative methods.