Effectiveness of educational programs on reducing the burden of caregivers of elderly individuals with dementia: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective: This study's objective was to analyze the effectiveness of educational and support programs for caregivers on reducing their burden. Method: The method used was a systematic review. The following were searched; MEDLINE, LILACS, Embase, Cochrane, Web of Science, SciELO and CINAHL. Results: Seven randomized clinical studies were included. These studies compared an educational program with standard care delivery, assessing the burden of caregivers through the Zarit Burden Interview. After the analysis of sensitivity, four studies were grouped in the meta-analysis showing a statistically significant reduction in caregiver burden among the participants of educational and support programs. Conclusion: The evidence obtained in this study suggests that educational and support programs have a positive impact on the reduction of caregiver burden when compared to standard care. Therefore, the inclusion of these programs in institutions providing care to the elderly is effective and should be encouraged. These programs should also share non-pharmacological management strategies for the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.Descriptors: Dementia; Caregivers; Aged; Geriatric Nursing. Descritores: Demência; Cuidadores; Idoso; Enfermagem Geriátrica. Efectividad de programas educativos en la sobrecarga de cuidadores de pacientes con diagnóstico de demencia: revisión sistemáticaObjetivo: El objetivo de este estudio fue analizar la eficacia de programas de educación y apoyo a cuidadores para reducir su sobrecarga. Método: El método utilizado fue una revisión sistemática. Consultamos el MEDLINE, LILACS, Embase, Cochrane, CINAHL y Web of Science.Resultados: Se incluyeron los ensayos controlados aleatorios que compararon el programa de educación con la atención habitual, con evaluación de la carga del cuidador a través de la Escala de Zarit Burden. Tras el análisis de sensibilidad, cuatro estudios se combinaron en un metaanálisis, que muestra una mayor reducción de la carga del cuidador entre los participantes de los programas educativos y de apoyo, con significación estadística. Conclusión: La evidencia en este estudio indica que los programas educativos y de apoyo son favorables para la reducción de la carga del cuidador. La inclusión de este tipo de programas en las instituciones dedicadas al cuidado de los ancianos es eficaz y debe fomentarse. Se puede inferir que estos programas deben incluir el intercambio de estrategias de manejo no-farmacológico para los síntomas conductuales y psicológicos de la demencia.Descriptores: Demencia; Cuidadores; Anciano; Enfermería Geriátrica. IntroductionPopulation aging in Brazil has been increasingly evident throughout recent decades, i.e. the elderly population has been growing faster than other age groups. According to the census published by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) in 2002, the population over 60 years-old had increased 35.6% between 1999 and that year, with this age group coming to represent 7.9% of the Brazilian population.The ce...

Psychosocial intervention for carers of people with dementia: What components are most effective and when? A systematic review of systematic reviews

“…Nature of the intervention Seven reviews, all rated as moderate quality, reported on educational/ psychoeducational interventions (Elvish et al, 2013;Marim et al, 2013;Olazaran et al, 2010;Parker et al, 2008;Peacock and Forbes, 2003;Pinquart and Sorensen, 2006;Thompson et al, 2007). Four reviews used the term 'psychoeducational' to classify interventions.…”

“…Thompson et al (2007) differentiated between psychoeducational interventions that were group-based and those that were individual-based. Marim et al (2013) …”

“…The review by Marim et al (2013) focused on carer burden and only included studies which used the Zarit Burden Interview tool. Elvish et al (2013) was the only review to identify a primary outcome measure.…”

“…Four of the reviews reported meta-analyses (Marim et al, 2013;Parker et al, 2008;Pinquart and Sorensen, 2006;Thompson et al, 2007). In the most recent meta-analysis of psychoeducational interventions, Marim et al (2013) investigated the effectiveness of educational and support programmes for carers on reducing carer burden.…”

Los Cuidadores Informales de Personas Mayores Dependientes: una Revisión de las Intervenciones Psicológicas de los Últimos Diez Años

“…Algunas revisiones se han centrado en valorar la eficacia de intervenciones sobre variables de resultado concretas, como la sobrecarga (Acton y Kang, 2001;Yin, Zhou y Bashford, 2002) o la sintomatología depresiva (Vázquez et al, 2014;Vázquez et al, 2015;Vázquez y Otero, 2009;Weinbrecht, Rieckmann y Renneberg, 2016). En otros casos, las revisiones se han ceñido a ciertos tipos de intervenciones, por ejemplo, programas de carácter psicoeducativo (Marim, Silva, Taminato y Barbosa, 2013) o intervenciones aplicadas en formato online (Parra-Vidales et al, 2017).…”