HBC201 Caregiver Burden and Research Methods in Dementia Tutor-Marked Assignment 01, Singapore

TUTOR-MARKED ASSIGNMENT (TMA01)

This assignment is worth 20% of the final mark for HBC201 Research Methods for the Social and Behavioural Sciences.

The cut-off date for this assignment is Tuesday, 28 January 2025, 11.55pm.

Note to Students:

• You are to include the following particulars in your submission: Course Code, Title of the TMA (if applicable), SUSS PI No., Your Name, and Submission Date.
• Your TMA will be marked holistically. Marks allocated for each question suggests the relative importance of each question.
• Please take note of the following when you work on this TMA:
  • Label each question and the respective answer clearly in your TMA.
  • Apply concepts covered in this course and information provided in the given journal article to answer each TMA question.
  • Conduct additional research and use relevant information to strengthen your responses to questions in this TMA.
  • It is important that you elaborate your response for each question. Illustrate your points with appropriate examples and structure your reasoning in a logical and cohesive manner.
  • Include in-text citations and bibliography properly in the American Psychological Association (APA7) format. Using information from electronic or printed materials without proper citations/references is considered plagiarism.
  • Refer to APA guidelines about how to quote or paraphrase information from electronic or printed materials properly. You are advised to write responses in your own words. Do NOT copy and paste any information from any source, even if citations and a reference section are included in your assignment.
  • Please use proper language and structure in writing your essay. Up to 5 marks can be deducted for grammatical, punctuation, and spelling errors.
  • Citations and a reference section in APA7 format are expected. Up to 5 marks can be deducted for incorrect and/or inadequate citations and references.
• The word limit of this TMA is 1,400 words, including in-text citations, but excluding references and appendices. Please provide a word count at the end of your TMA. Note that a further 5% of your final grade will be deducted if your TMA exceeds the word limit.
• Please use the cover page that is provided in the L-group folder. A penalty of 5% of your final grade will be imposed if any other school cover page (e.g., Psychology, Sociology, or any other programme cover page) is included in the final submission of your assignment via Turnitin. No appeals concerning the cover page will be entertained.
• Content that is generated by AI software (e.g., ChatGPT) without citation/declaration is not allowed. If you include any AI-generated content in your assignments, please cite it according to SUSS guidelines on the use of AI. For example, direct quotes must be placed within quotation marks and their sources must be indicated. Do note that the use of AI-generated content is subject to similar plagiarism rules as the use of published sources. As in the case with published sources, AI should never take over or drown out your voice as the author of the essay, but should only serve as a source of ideas and arguments, examples, or illustrations, etc. to help you present your position on an issue.

Resources

• You can refer to Purdue Online Writing Lab about APA7 format: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/research_and_citation/apa_style/apa_formatting_and_style_guide/general_format.html
• You can conduct additional research using databases available via SUSS library: https://libguides.suss.edu.sg/az.php?a=s

Full marks: 100

Caregiving Burden

The caregiving burden for persons with dementia has been on the rise especially in countries facing an aging population. In Asian cultures where filial piety and reliance on the family are dominant values, this burden tends to fall largely on informal caregivers such as adult children or spouses.

Providing care for a relative with dementia can be especially draining as the disease progresses and the demands for care increase over time. Coupled with the ongoing sense of responsibility to be constantly available for one’s relative, stress experienced by caregivers can be further exacerbated as they deprive themselves of self-care and respite.

In a study on family caregivers for persons with dementia in Malaysia, researchers examined various factors that were associated with poor mental health and quality of life. They reported their findings in the following journal article. Read the article for more information about the study.

Nasreen, H. E., Tyrrell, M., Vikström, S., Craftman, Å., Syed Ahmad, S. A. B., Zin, N. M., Aziz, K. H. A., Mohd Tohit, N. B., Md Aris, M. A., & Kabir, Z. N. (2024). Caregiver burden, mental health, quality of life and self-efficacy of family caregivers of persons with dementia in Malaysia: baseline results of a psychoeducational intervention study. BMC geriatrics, 24(1), 656. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-024-05221-9

Analyse and critique the study in the journal article above. You are required to apply relevant concepts and information from the course materials, given journal article and additional research to answer the following questions. Please include at least 5 academic references (textbooks, journal articles, or book chapters) in your response to this TMA.

Questions:

(a) In the context of the given study, explain why it is important to use social science research methods to find out more about caregiver burden and other related issues faced by caregivers for persons with dementia, rather than rely on non-research methods such as hearsay. (10 marks)

(b) For each ethical principle in the Belmont Report, recognise and appreciate an ethical issue in the given study. Specifically, explain each principle in the Belmont Report and discuss what the researchers did (or could have done) in the given study to address the ethical issues that you have identified. (30 marks)

(c) The researchers conducted a quantitative study in this article. Examine TWO advantages of quantitative approaches to explain why the researchers decided to conduct their research this way. (30 marks)

(d) Suppose the researchers would like to use a randomised controlled trial to assess the effectiveness of a telephone-based psychoeducational intervention in reducing caregiver burden.

(i) Clearly state whether a cross-sectional or longitudinal study should be conducted. Discuss ONE benefit and ONE limitation of your chosen study design to explain your answer.
(ii) Clearly state the null and non-directional alternative hypotheses of the study. (30 marks)