Multicomponent Intervention in Caregivers on Quality of Life of People With Dementia: a Clinical Trial

Consorci Hospitalari de Vic94 enrolled

Overview

The main objective is to determine the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention for caregivers, conducted by an expert psychologist to improve the quality of life of the people with Alzheimer's disease. Secondarily, will be analyzed the effectiveness of this program on improving anxiety and depressive symptoms, burden, happiness, social support and cognitive performance of the caregivers and alleviate the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The investigators analyze the caregiver's and patient's personality as a possible moderator between dependent and independent variables, and the resources utilization before and after intervention. Methods: randomized study with parallel assignment in two groups: control and intervention group, six-month follow-up. The eligible participants will be 94 adult (≥18 years) caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease who follow-up by Osona Integrated Geriatric Unite (Catalonia, Spain). The intervention group will receive a multicomponent intervention that includes dementia psychoeducation and management, emotional and communication skills, mindfulness and healthy lifestyle. The control group will follow the standard management according to the primary and specialized care professionals' team. Main measurements: quality of life of the patients at baseline, after intervention and at six-month follow-up through QoL-AD. Secondary measures: they will be determined, at baseline, after the intervention and at six-month follow-up: depression (HDRS) and anxiety (HARS), burden (CBI), happiness (OHQ), quality of life (QoL-AD), social support (UCLA and DUKE-ANC), cognitive performance (neuropsychological assessment) of the caregivers, resources utilization (RUD), BPSD (NPI), cognitive status (MMSE), functional status (IADL) of the patients. Caregiver's personality at baseline and six-month follow-up and dementia characteristics at baseline will be measured. Other measures: sociodemographic and health characteristics of the caregivers and patients.

Study Type

INTERVENTIONAL

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

SINGLE

Interventions

Multicomponent InterventionOTHER

Multicomponent intervention conducted by and expert psychologist that target different aspects of the caregiving experience (affective responses, communication skills, burden experience, social support and loneliness, cognitive performance, the practice of mindfulness and health-related behaviours). The number of sessions will be 8, 1 session of 90 minutes a week, and the number of participants will be 12-14 per group. In some sessions other collaborators will be invited to participate (social workers, physiotherapist).

Eligibility

Sex: ALLMin age: 18 Years

Medical Language ↔ Plain English

Inclusion Criteria: * adults (≥18 years of age) * main caregivers of people with early or mild Alzheimer's disease * follow-up by Osona Integrated Geriatric Unite (Catalonia) * signed informed consent. Exclusion Criteria: * non stable medical condition the last six months (or any acute or chronic condition that would limit the ability of the patient to participate in the study) * cognitive impairment (MMSE\<24) * substance abuse * active psychotherapy * refusal to give informed consent

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Changes in quality of life of the patients after intervention and 6 months follow-up in control and intervention group: Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD)

Quality of life assessed using Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease (QoL-AD). The total score ranges from 13 to 52, with a higher number indicating better quality of life