Telephone-delivered psychoeducational intervention for Hong Kong Chinese dementia caregivers: a single-blinded randomized controlled trial

Abstract

PurposeMany family caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) are unable to participate in community center-based caregiver support services because of logistical constraints. This study evaluated the effectiveness of a telephone-delivered psychoeducational intervention for family caregivers of PWD in alleviating caregiver burden and enhancing caregiving self-efficacy.Subjects and methodsIn a single-blinded randomized controlled trial, 38 family caregivers of PWD were randomly allocated into an intervention group or a control group. The intervention group received psychoeducation from a registered social worker over the phone for 12 sessions. Caregivers in the control group were given a DVD containing educational information about dementia caregiving. Outcomes of the intervention were measured by the Chinese versions of the Zarit Burden Interview and the Revised Scale for Caregiving Self-efficacy. Mann–Whitney U tests were used to compare the differences between the intervention and control groups.ResultsThe level of burden of caregivers in the intervention group reduced significantly compared with caregivers in the control group. Caregivers in the intervention group also reported significantly more gain in self-efficacy in obtaining respite than the control group.ConclusionA structured telephone intervention can benefit dementia caregivers in terms of self-efficacy and caregiving burden. The limitations of the research and recommendations for intervention are discussed.

Caregivers as Therapeutic Agents in Dementia Care

“…These multicomponent interventions included combinations of education, care management, counseling, skills training, and referral to community resources tailored to caregiver unmet needs. Five studies emphasized telephone delivery Kwok, Bel Wong, Chui, Young, & Ho, 2013;Martindale-Adams, Nichols, Burns, Graney, & Zuber, 2013;Tremont et al, 2014); two studies emphasized adoption of newer technologies, such as videophone (Czaja et al, 2013) or webbased platforms (Kajiyama et al, 2013). While the strength of effect of the outcomes in these studies were similar to those noted in Table 17.1 (e.g., burden, strain, psychological morbidity), most also included measures of positive aspects of caregiving (e.g., preparedness, competency, and mastery).…”

Effectiveness of a psychoeducational intervention for caregivers of People With Dementia with regard to burden, anxiety and depression: A systematic review

“…In general, interventions consisted of several components, such as education, social support, counselling, problem‐solving techniques, coping strategies (Chien & Lee, ; Hatch, Dehart, & Norton, ; Kwok et al, ; Losada et al, ; Rotrou et al, ; Söylemez, Küçükgüçlü, & Buckwalter, ), future activity planning, self‐care (Chien & Lee, ; Martín‐Carrasco, Domínguez‐Panchón, González‐Fraile, Muñoz‐Hermoso, & Ballesteros, ; Schulz, Gallagher‐Thompson, Haley, & Czaja, ) and leisure activities (Gitlin, Winter, Dennis, Hodgson, & Hauck, ).…”

“…The interventions had a baseline assessment and follow‐up assessments on completion of the intervention and at 3 and 6 months postintervention. The aim of the programme was to decrease burden and promote self‐efficacy (Gitlin et al, ; Hatch et al, ; Kwok et al, ; Tremont et al, ), reduce levels of depression and anxiety (Beauchamp et al, ; Gitlin et al, ; Hatch et al, ; Kajiyama et al, ; Tremont et al, ) and stress (Hattink et al, ; Kajiyama et al, ) and improve quality of life (Ducharme et al, ).…”

“…Compared with their respective control groups (CGs), the interventions achieved a significant reduction in burden (Gitlin et al, ; Hatch et al, ; Kajiyama et al, ; Kwok et al, ), levels of depression (Beauchamp et al, ; Gitlin et al, ; Hattink et al, ; Kajiyama et al, ; Kuo et al, ) and anxiety (Beauchamp et al, ), improved communication with the care recipient (Gitlin et al, ) (caregiver self‐efficacy and well‐being, and improvements in strategies for seeking help from other people (Kwok et al, ). It should be noted that the reductions in depression and anxiety were most significant in those caregivers who presented higher level prior to the intervention (Hatch et al, ).…”

Benefits of psychodynamic group therapy on depression, burden and quality of life of family caregivers to Alzheimer’s disease patients

“…Benefits have been shown by both individual and group interventions, and recent studies suggested that even remote models of attention provided by telephone or web-based interviews may also be efficacious 22 . In a single-blinded randomized controlled trial with 38 family caregivers of persons with dementia 22 , presented benefits of a telephone-based psycho-educational program delivered through twelve sessions. Compared to subjects in the control group, who were given a DVD containing general information about caregiving, recipients of the intervention reported better self-efficacy and lesser degrees of burden.…”