Interventions for mitigating occupational stress for professional dementia caregivers in residential aged care: A systematic review with meta-analysis

Abstract

Objective Occupational stress in professional dementia caregivers in residential aged care facilities has adverse effects on care quality, caregivers’ health, and workforce sustainability. The purpose of this study was to examine the evidence regarding interventions to mitigate occupational stress for this population. Methods A systematic review of CINAHL, PsycINFO, PubMed and MEDLINE databases was conducted to identify original RCT research reporting on stress interventions, published in English between 1995 and March 2022. Search results were screened by two independent reviewers. Quality and risk of bias were appraised using the Downs and Black Checklist and Risk of Bias by two reviewers. Meta-analysis and subgroup analysis examined the pooled intervention effects on stress compared to control. Results 10 studies met the inclusion criteria, and these reported on 15 interventions and 28 outcomes from 92 facilities, involving 1,397 caregivers. We found a small and insignificant effect of interventions on caregiver stress (g = −.27, p = .16). Heterogeneity was partially explained by subgroup analysis. Interventions can mitigate stress and burden not attributed to client behaviour ( n = 3) (g = −.85, p < .001), and improve caregivers’ self-efficacy ( n = 4) (g = −.35, p = .07). We were unable to determine the most effective type of intervention, although organisation focused interventions showed the greatest potential (g = −.58, p = .08). Conclusion Interventions that improve caregivers’ personal and organisational resources can reduce non-client associated stress and burden and increase self-efficacy. Aged care providers are recommended to prioritise education with organisational support interventions. Research on longitudinal effects and high-risk caregivers is required. Limitations are discussed. Prospero Registration Number CRD42022313715 (registered April 2022).