Internet-delivered guided self-help acceptance and commitment therapy for family carers of people with dementia (iACT4CARERS): a feasibility study

Abstract

Objectives:The feasibility of research into internet-delivered guided self-help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for family carers of people with dementia is not known. This study assessed this in an uncontrolled feasibility study. Method: Family carers of people with dementia with mild to moderate anxiety or depression were recruited from primary and secondary healthcare services in the UK. Participants were offered eight, guided, self-help online ACT sessions adapted for the needs of family carers of people with dementia with optional online peer support groups. Pre-defined primary indicators of success included recruitment of 30 eligible carers over 6 months and ≥70% completing at least two online sessions. Results: Thirty-three participants (110% of the target sample) were recruited over 6 months and 30 participants (91%) completed two or more sessions, and thus both indicators of success were met. Further, 70% of participants completed seven or all eight sessions, and 27% of participants were lost to follow-up, but none of the reasons for early withdrawal were related to the intervention. Conclusion:This study supports the feasibility, including recruitment and treatment completion. A full-scale trial to assess the clinical-and cost-effectiveness of the intervention including its long-term effects is warranted.

Internet-delivered guided self-help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for family carers of people with dementia (iACT4CARERS): a qualitative study of carer views and acceptability

“…There were no explicitly planned therapeutic elements to these peer support groups, and the sessions were led by the participants. More information about the intervention is available in the report on the feasibility study summarizing the quantitative results of the study (Kishita et al, 2021 ).…”

“…Following these recent developments in ACT, a feasibility study was conducted aiming to (a) develop an internet-delivered, guided, self-help ACT intervention for family carers of people with dementia; (b) explore whether this new intervention is acceptable among this population; and (c) test whether it is feasible to deliver this intervention within the formal healthcare (i.e., NHS) services in the UK (Kishita et al, 2021 ).…”

Acceptance and commitment improve the work–caregiving interface among dementia family caregivers.

“…Given working family caregivers' busy schedules, it is also important to consider appropriate delivery methods of ACT. Internet-delivered approaches (e.g., iCBT) may offer promising alternatives to traditional face-to-face interventions that could be barriers for busy family caregivers in terms of time and place (Kishita et al, 2021). This document is copyrighted by the American Psychological Association or one of its allied publishers.…”

Family Carers of People with Dementia in Japan, Spain, and the UK: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of the Relationships between Experiential Avoidance, Cognitive Fusion, and Carer Depression

“…The original version of the EACQ was developed in Spanish 21 and has been validated in Japanese. 19 The English translated version of the EACQ presented in the original validation study, 21 which has been used in previous research, 20 , 22 was used for the UK sample. The 15-item EACQ is specifically designed to assess experiential avoidance in the caregiving context and measures active avoidant behaviours (e.g.…”

“…UK Sample (N = 77). Screening data collected for an interventional study investigating the feasibility and acceptability of an online self-help ACT programme 20 was used for the UK sample. Participants had to be primary carers, providing regular care to their family member with dementia, and interested in engaging with online self-help ACT to sign up for screening.…”