At a Glance: Daily Stress and Health Study (DaSH) Seeking Participants

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Spring 2010 Newsletter

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Researchers from the Pennsylvania State University, led by Dr. Steven H. Zarit, are conducting a study that examines the daily experience of family members whose relatives utilize Adult Day Service Programs. The study, called The Daily Stress and Health Study (DaSH), is currently seeking family caregivers to participate in the research. The goal of DaSH is to better understand the stress that caregivers experience and how Adult Day Service programs may protect their health and well-being.

If you decide to participate, you will be asked to complete one face-to-face interview, a series of brief telephone interviews, and provide saliva samples over a period of 8 days. The saliva procedure is simple and easy to do, and it gives valuable information about how you are responding to stress.

This study builds on the research team's prior work in New Jersey and Pennsylvania that has shown that Adult Day Service program can improve the well-being of family caregivers as well as the person with dementia. The potential of our new study lies in the ability to link the everyday events that family caregivers experience with biological stress markers. That information will advance our understanding of the pathways by which daily stress affects health, and to help us learn how Adult Day Services might reduce a caregiver's health risks.

Funding for the study is provided by the National Institute on Aging. Participants and the Adult Day Program are compensated for their time. For more information, contact the study's Research Coordinator, Dr. Caryn Goodman at 201-897-0069 or by e-mail at cgood243@hotmail.com.