Does befriending by trained lay workers improve psychological well-being and quality of life for carers of people with dementia, and at what cost?: a randomised controlled trial.

Abstract

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Investing in mental health and well-being: findings from the DataPrev project

“…No significant difference found in outcomes, but values not reported in paperHealth, social car and long-term careNo ratio reported as no significant difference in outcomes. On average intervention programme would have higher costs of €1525 but this was not statistically significantC: Usual care24 monthsCEADeemed to have only a 10% chance of being cost-effective(Charlesworth et al , 2008) and Wilson et al (2009), EnglandI: Access to an employed befriending, facilitator and then offer of befriend in addition to usual care236 carers of people with dementia (PwD). Mean age of carers was 68 years (range 36–91 years) and the mean age of PwD was older at 78 yearsRCTTotal intervention cost at 15 months £122, 665; control group £120, 852.…”

“…Neither a home visit programme by nurses in the Netherlands nor a programme to promote the befriending of older people in England was found to be effective or cost-effective (Bouman et al ., 2008a, b; Charlesworth et al , 2008; Wilson et al , 2009). We did identify a cost–utility analysis from the Netherlands conducted alongside a randomized controlled trial comparing a home visiting service provided by trained volunteers with a brochure providing information on depression (Onrust et al , 2008).…”

Peer support for family carers of people with dementia, alone or in combination with group reminiscence in a factorial design: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

“…The intervention was originally based on a model of collaboration and partnership with a local voluntary carer support organisation [25]. The research team worked with a Carer Supporter Manager (CS Manager), based within a host voluntary sector organisation, to develop the CSP intervention.…”

Recent advances in patient and proxy-reported quality of life research

“…cost per additional year that the person with dementia lived at home). Three studies [36–38] included a cost‐utility analysis using three generic health measures suitable for QALY calculations: the EQ‐5D [36], Health Utility Index-2 (HUI2) [37] and the Caregiver Quality of Life Instrument [38]. Since the decision to use a specific QoL measure has implications on its cost-effectiveness, the authors suggest that health economists select instruments appropriate to their intended population and outcomes of interest, and that clinical trialists consider ease of administration, time constraints, clarity and respondent burden when choosing an appropriate measure.…”