Meditation-based interventions for family caregivers of people with dementia: a review of the empirical literature

Abstract

Objectives: Providing care for a family member with dementia is associated with increased risk of adverse mental health sequelae. Recently, interventions utilising meditation-based techniques have been developed with the aim of reducing psychological distress among dementia caregivers. The present review aimed to critically evaluate the extant empirical literature in order to determine: (1) whether meditation-based interventions can reduce depression among dementia caregivers and (2) whether meditation-based interventions can reduce subjective burden among dementia caregivers. Method: After adhering to inclusion and exclusion criteria, a total of eight studies were included in the present review.Methodological quality was assessed using one of two scales dependent on study design.Results: The results provide tentative evidence that meditation-based interventions do indeed improve levels of depression and burden in family dementia caregivers. Conclusions: The review highlighted the strengths and weakness of the studies' methodological designs. While this novel review offers evidence in support of meditation-based interventions to improve the psychological distress of family dementia caregivers, future research should direct efforts to conduct larger scale, more rigorous studies. Clinical implications of the findings are also discussed.

Documenting stress in caregivers of transplantation patients: initial evidence of HPA dysregulation

“…Although interventions to reduce caregiver burden, improve caregivers’ ability to cope, increase their self-efficacy, and enhance their quality of life (Northouse et al, 2010, Hurley et al, 2014, Lavretsky et al, 2013) exist, identifying objective ways to document their impact on the physical health of the caregiver is likely required for the systematic uptake into policy and practice. The purpose of this study was to correlate the self-reported burden and distress with objective neuroendocrine and immune measures of the stress response to operationalize the impact on the caregiver’s health.…”

Experience of burden in carers of people with dementia on the margins of long-term care

“…This suggests that carer support programmes that incorporate principles of risk management (Department of Health, ), or interventions that utilise meditation‐based techniques to help address anxiety, may be beneficial. Such interventions, including elements of mindfulness meditation, have recently been evaluated (Hurley et al ., ) and found to reduce carer burden in the short‐term, but their long‐term benefits have yet to be demonstrated.…”

A comprehensive meta-review of systematic reviews and meta-analyses on nonpharmacological interventions for informal dementia caregivers

“…Findings based on only one intervention study within each review do not appear in Table 2; thus this meta-review focuses on findings with a certain degree of replication, or lack of, at the time of publication of each of the reviews. The effectiveness of psychoeducation was addressed in 14 reviews [12,23,28,29,34,37,41,49,51,53,58,62,66,70], counseling and psychotherapy -10 reviews [12,22,29,32,36,37,53,57,58,66], occupational therapy (OT) interventions -2 reviews [16,66], mindfulness-based interventions (e.g., mantra repetition, meditation, yoga, mindfulness-based stress reduction) -5 reviews [21,22,33,38,43], support interventions (e.g., support groups, mobilizing informal networks) -5 reviews [12,24,49,59,62], communication skills training -3 reviews [27,47,48], respite -6 reviews [12,22,45,63,65,…”

“…Among the 43 reviews that analyzed burden (including measures of overload, stress and behavioral bother), over half (k = 28) provided support for intervention effects. Burden was found to be reduced by psychoeducation [12,34,37,51,53,58,66], counseling/psychotherapy [12,32,36,53] OT interventions, [16], mindfulness-based interventions [21,33,38], communication training [47], respite/ day care [12,63], home support [20], care coordination/ case management [15,53], physical activity interventions [50], multicomponent interventions [14,31], dyadic interventions [39], technology-based interventions [17,28,46,51,54], and miscellaneous or intervention programs in general [12,19,35,53,61].…”

“…Forty-one reviews examined depression as an outcome. Of these, 35 found support for the interventions, including psychoeducation [12,28,34,41,51,53,58,62,66], counseling/psychotherapy [12,32,36,37,53,58,66], mindfulness [21,33,38,43], communication training [47], respite/ day care [12,63], multicomponent interventions [14,28,29,31], dyadic interventions [40], technology-based interventions [17,25,26,28,30,41,42,46,51,54,57], and miscellaneous/general interventions [19,35,44,67,69]. Only 11 articles provided negative/mixed reviews, covering psychoeducation [12,37,62], counseling/psychotherapy…”