Effects of a Modified Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Family Caregivers of People With Dementia: A Randomized Clinical Trial

Abstract

Background and Objectives Family caregivers of people with dementia (PWD) experience high levels of stress resulting from caregiving. This study aimed to investigate the effects of a modified of Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) for dementia caregiving Research Design and Methods 113 family caregivers of PWD were randomized to either the intervention group, receiving the 7-session modified MBCT over 10 weeks with telephone follow-up; or the control group, receiving the brief education on dementia care and usual care. The caregiving stress(primary outcome), and various psychological outcomes of caregivers and the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia(BPSD) in the care-recipients were assessed and compared at baseline(T0), post-intervention(T1), and at the 6-month follow-up(T2) Results At both T1 and T2, the intervention group had a statistically greater improvement in stress(p=0.02 and 0.03), depression(p=0.001 and 0.04), anxiety(p=0.007 and 0.03) and BPSD-related caregivers’ distress(p=0.003 and p=0.04). A significant greater improvement was also demonstrated in mental health-related QoL at T2(p=0.001) and BPSD of the care-recipients at T1(p=0.04). The increased caregivers’ level of mindfulness was significantly correlated with the improvement of various psychological outcomes at T1 and T2 with correlation coefficient -0.64 to 0.43 Discussion and Implications The modified MBCT enhanced the level of mindfulness in the caregivers and was effective to reduce the caregivers’ stress and promote their psychological well-being over 6-month follow-up. Future research is recommended to further examine its effects on the varieties of psychological and behavioural outcomes of both caregivers and care-recipients and their dyadic relationships, as well as explore its mechanism of action in facilitating dementia caregiving

Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy for Stress Reduction in Family Carers of People Living with Dementia: A Systematic Review

“…The study designs of all studies are presented in Table 1 . The seven studies included were those by Cheung et al, (2020) [ 39 ]; Kor et al, (2019, 2020) [ 40 , 41 ]; Norouzi et al, (2015) [ 42 ]; Oken et al, (2010) [ 36 ]; Ozen (2013) [ 43 ]; and Zarei (2018) [ 44 ]. All included studies were randomized and controlled.…”

“…Three studies were described as pilot RCTs [ 35 , 40 , 43 ]. The number of participants in the seven studies ranged from 12–113, with only two studies [ 39 , 41 ] recruiting over 50 participants.…”

“…Three other studies used active control groups [ 38 , 39 , 40 ]. Two studies [ 40 , 41 ] used brief education programs as the control that matched the MBCT group in terms of duration and number of sessions. These education sessions were also structured to provide a mix of didactic teaching and group sharing experiences which is similar to MBCT.…”

Mental and Physical Self-Awareness of Alzheimer Patients: Decreased Awareness of Amnesia and Increased Fear of Falling Compared to Views of Families: The Tajiri and Wakuya Projects

“…Meguro [5] suggested that expression and attitude of a patient with AD differed during an examination depending on whether the family of the patient had suggested that he or she was forgetful. Kor et al [19] found that an increase in the mindful attitude of caregivers was significantly correlated with a decrease of behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.…”

Assessing psychosocial interventions for informal caregivers of older people with early dementia: a systematic review of randomized controlled evidence

“…(7) A group-based multicomponent psychoeducation intervention was grounded in the Adult learning theory, Stress, appraisal and coping theory and Cognitive behavior therapy, which aims to reduce caregiver depression, and improve caregiving appraisals and coping skills, and improve the conditions of people with dementia [64]. In addition, the mechanism of a modified mindfulness-based cognitive therapy is the mindful coping model [67].…”