Does early-stage intervention improve caregiver well-being or their ability to provide care to persons with mild dementia or mild cognitive impairment? A systematic review and meta-analysis.

Abstract

Interventions for caregivers of persons with dementia are well supported, but it remains unclear whether caregivers benefit from early-stage intervention when caring for persons with mild dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This systematic review and meta-analysis examined whether early-stage interventions for this population positively affect their well-being and ability to provide care and whether effectiveness varies based on intervention or caregiver/recipient characteristics. Searches of four databases (MEDLINE, EMBASE, PSYCINFO, and CINAHL) yielded 20,722 titles and 1,305 full texts were independently screened. Twenty-two reports representing 18 randomized controlled trial (RCT)/controlled early-stage intervention studies were included for meta-analysis, measuring a variety of outcomes for which effect sizes were calculated using standardized mean differences. Findings suggest that early-stage intervention has a small positive effect on both caregiver well-being and ability to provide care, with the largest effects observed for caregiver anxiety and caring-related distress. Moderator analyses showed no statistically significant difference in effectiveness based on type of intervention (counseling/psychotherapy, psychoeducational, or multicomponent) or individual versus group-based interventions. However, interventions that were caregiver only (vs. dyadic) had larger positive effects on caregiver well-being and ability to provide care. None of the caregiver/recipient characteristics examined (sex, type of relationship, and type of dementia) were related to the effectiveness of early-stage interventions. Although published controlled/ RCT trials were limited, findings support efforts to offer early-stage interventions to caregivers of persons with mild dementia or MCI. Further research to determine what intervention types or components are most efficacious would aid the provision of optimal support for caregivers early in their caregiving trajectory.

Association between caregiver ability and quality of life for people with inflammatory bowel disease: The mediation effect of positive feelings of caregivers

“…The mediation analysis supported the idea that positive feeling had a positive effect on HRQoL through caring ability. Our study showed that positive feeling was positively associated with caring ability, which was in line with of previous study ( Cheng et al, 2019 ; Bayly et al, 2021 ; Li-li et al, 2021 ). Caregivers with a higher level of positive feelings were better at realizing their personal values.…”

“…Previous study showed that a sense of gratification was felt when family caregivers were satisfied with their efforts in improving the wellbeing and functional status of the patients with dementia ( Yu et al, 2018 ). The positive feelings of caregivers were associated with stronger caring ability and longer caring time, which help improve wellbeing of patients with dementia and stroke ( Skolarus et al, 2017 ; Bayly et al, 2021 ). However, literatures on the relationships between caregivers’ positive feelings and IBD-related HRQoL were relatively lacking.…”

The Effectiveness of Multi-Component Interventions on the Positive and Negative Aspects of Well-Being among Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

“…With regard to the participants, findings of the subgroup analysis indicated that multi-component interventions recruiting caregivers only might have a better effect than dyadic interventions in terms of depression and burden. One possible reason is that intervention contents are mainly developed for caregivers [ 57 ], and caregivers can temporarily leave the caring environment and receive a short respite [ 25 ]. More detailed information about the intervention content and implementation strategies are required for exploring the best combination of intervention content and dosage in multi-component interventions.…”

Feasibility, acceptability and potential helpfulness of the PROACTIVE intervention in Flanders, Belgium: A survey study

“…This study showed a significantly increasing trend in the prevalence of registered dementia cases and of registered multimorbidity (3+ comorbidities) in dementia patients over from 2000 to 2021 [ 6 ]. Providing early support for informal caregivers can improve their wellbeing and ability to care, keeping older people with cognitive decline at home longer and diminishing public healthcare costs [ 7 – 11 ]. However, scientific literature has shown that very few psychosocial interventions target informal caregivers at the early stage of caregiving [ 11 , 12 ].…”