ABSTRACT

Natural disasters are often stressful for persons with cognitive impairment (PWCI) and caregivers. We investigated the impact of the Northern California 2017 wildfires on PWCI and caregivers who were participating in a research study of an integrative group movement program at an adult day center affected by the fires. One month and 7 months after the fires, we sent caregivers a survey that included the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS, range: 0–40) and open-ended questions to assess the psychosocial impact of the fires on PWCI and caregivers. We used paired t-tests to analyze PSS responses and qualitative content analysis for open-ended responses. Thirteen of the 17 caregivers returned at least one survey. Caregivers reported moderate levels of perceived stress at both time points, with no change over time (PSS mean: 20.4 vs. 21.3, p = .31). We identified three psychosocial domains impacted by the fires. First, both PWCI and caregivers experienced emotional distress. Second, PWCI exhibited a range of cognitive responses, including confusion and disorientation, no impact, hyperawareness, and improved cognitive function and adaptability. Third, despite emotional distress, some caregivers reported increased self-efficacy. Our results provide evidence of resilience in some PWCI and caregivers in response to the fires, despite emotional distress. This resilience may have been due to the sense of community that sometimes occurs following natural disasters, or it may have been a result of participating in the study, which was designed to promote social/emotional connectedness and may have provided a source of continuity and support during a time of tragedy.

摘要

自然灾害通常会给认知障碍者 (PWCI) 和护理人员带来压力。我们调查了 2017 年北加州野火对 PWCI 和参与受火灾影响的成人日间中心的综合团体运动项目研究的护理人员的影响。火灾发生一个月和 7 个月后，我们向护理人员发送了一项调查，其中包括 10 项感知压力量表（PSS，范围：0-40）和开放式问题，以评估火灾对 PWCI 和护理人员的心理社会影响。我们使用配对 t 检验来分析 PSS 响应和开放式响应的定性内容分析。17 名护理人员中有 13 名至少返回了一项调查。护理人员在两个时间点都报告了中等水平的压力感知，随着时间的推移没有变化（PSS 平均值：20.4 对 21.3，p = .31)。我们确定了受火灾影响的三个社会心理领域。首先，PWCI 和护理人员都经历过情绪困扰。其次，PWCI 表现出一系列认知反应，包括混乱和迷失方向、无影响、超意识以及改善的认知功能和适应性。第三，尽管情绪困扰，一些护理人员报告说自我效能感有所提高。尽管情绪困扰，我们的结果提供了一些 PWCI 和护理人员应对火灾的复原力的证据。这种复原力可能是由于自然灾害后有时会出现社区意识，也可能是参与研究的结果，该研究旨在促进社会/情感联系，并可能提供连续性和支持的来源在悲剧的时刻。