Perceived helpfulness of telephone calls--providing support for caregivers of family members with dementia.

The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived helpfulness of telephone calls to 83 caregivers of family members with dementia. Study participants were assigned by groups to experimental (n = 41) or attention-only control (n = 42) conditions. Initial baseline interview data and narrative transcripts of telephone calls were used in this study. Major perceived reasons for helpfulness were that participants were assisted in sharing thoughts and feelings, expressing feelings of being overwhelmed, discussing physical and psychosocial problems, forgetting the situation, seeking reassurance, and asking for information; several participants perceived the telephone calls to be lacking in helpfulness. Results from this study suggest family caregivers can be helped through a variety of social support mechanisms.