Background: The psychological and behavioral symptoms (SPCD) of dementias are the manifestations that cause the most suffering in the patient and caregiver, worsening the other two symptomatic areas (cognitive and functional) and precipitating the early institutionalization of patients with dementia. non-pharmacological therapies (TNF) in dementia are framed in the biopsychosocial model of patient care. We found evidence in the literature about the effectiveness of ambulatory educational interventions to the family caregiver in terms of reducing overload and improving their state of mind But it is not well demonstrated whether this improvement can have an indirect impact on the SPCD of the patient, nor whether the profile of patients could have an added benefit to the best pharmacological treatment. Methods: The experimental study selected thirty-six older adults family caregivers of patients with dementia.The intervention group (n=18) received isolated medical treatment, while the control group (n=18) received medical treatment plus educational support therapy to their family caregivers. Data collection included sociodemographic measures and responses to the educational support therapy tot the Zarit Caregiver Overload Scale (family caregivers) and Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI-10) patients with dementia.
A descriptive analysis of the sociodemographic characteristics of the intervention and control groups was done. Qualitative variables were expressed as percentages, and quantitative variables were summarised as the median and interquartile range. Shapiro-Wilk tests indicated that the dependent variables were not normally distributed (p \< .05), so non-parametric statistical analyses were subsequently performed. The difference between the medians of the two patient groups was examined with the Mann-Whitney U test. Qualitative variables were compared with the chi-squared or Fisher's exact test, as appropriate.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
36
educational intervention to the caregiver and individualization according to their family and social context
Calamanda Matamoros
Tortosa, Tarragona, Spain
Caregiver Activity Survey (Zarit scale) measures caregiver overload.
Change from baseline Zarit scale at 3 months. To assess caregiver burden we use the Zarit scale (Caregiver Overload Scale), validated in our setting and widely used not only in studies of dependency, but also in other populations. It consists of 22 questions with 5 possible answers (never, rarely, sometimes, quite often, quite often, almost always), scored from 1 to 5, and with a range of 22 to 110 in the total score, and which establishes the different degrees of overload according to the score obtained: absence of overload (≤ 46), light overload (47-55) and intense overload (≥ 56). The main drawback to its use is the size and, therefore, the time involved in its use.
Time frame: At the beginning of the enrolment and 3 months later.
Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI).
Change from baseline of the NPI-10. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) 10 items, is a relatively brief interview with a family member or friend who knows the patient well and can evaluate 12 behavioral areas commonly affected in patients with dementia, including depression. It is also routinely used to evaluate the effects of treatment on these symptoms. The total severity score on the NPI-10 represents the sum of the individual symptom scores and ranges from 0 to 36 . Caregiver distress associated with the symptom is scored on a 0- to 5-point anchored scale identical to that used in the NPI.
Time frame: At the beginning of the enrolment and 3 months later.
Sociodemographic measures.
Gender (man and woman), Age (years) and Employment status (acoccupationally active or inactive).
Time frame: At the beginning of the enrolment.
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