scholarly journals Effectiveness of Powerful Tools for Caregivers on Caregiver Burden and on Care Recipient Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia: A Randomized Controlled Trial

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 1121-1127.e1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Terracciano ◽  
Ashley Artese ◽  
Jenie Yeh ◽  
LaVon Edgerton ◽  
Lisa Granville ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Caregiver Burden ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Care Recipient ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Behavioral And Psychological Symptoms

scholarly journals A Randomized Controlled Trial of Emotion Regulation Therapy for Psychologically Distressed Caregivers of Cancer Patients

2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mia S O’Toole ◽  
Douglas S Mennin ◽  
Allison Applebaum ◽  
Britta Weber ◽  
Hanne Rose ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Psychological Distress ◽  
Cancer Patients ◽  
Caregiver Burden ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Post Treatment ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Behavioral Therapies ◽  
Cognitive Behavioral Therapies

Abstract Background Previous cognitive behavioral therapies for informal caregivers (ICs) have produced negligible effects. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, in a randomized controlled trial, the efficacy of Emotion Regulation Therapy adapted for caregivers (ERT-C) on psychological and inflammatory outcomes in psychologically distressed ICs and the cancer patients cared for. Methods A total of 81 ICs with elevated psychological distress were randomly assigned to ERT-C or a waitlist condition and assessed pre-, mid-, and post-treatment. In 52 cases, the patient cared for by the IC was included. Patients did not receive ERT-C. Both the ERT-C and waitlist groups were followed 3 and 6 months post-treatment. Data were analyzed with multilevel models, and P values were two-sided. Results Compared with ICs in the waitlist condition, ICs in the ERT-C condition experienced medium to large statistically significant reductions in psychological distress (Hedge’s g = 0.86, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.40 to 1.32, P < .001), worry (g = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.50 to 1.42, P < .001), and caregiver burden (g = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.10 to 1.99, P = .007) post-treatment. No statistically significant effects were found for rumination (g = 0.24, 95% CI = −0.20 to 0.68, P = .220). Results concerning caregiver burden were maintained through 6 months follow-up. Although the effects on psychological distress and worry diminished, their end-point effects remained medium to large. No statistically significant effects on systemic inflammation were detected (C-reactive protein: g = .17, 95% CI = −0.27 to 0.61, P = .570; interleukin-6: g = .35, 95% CI = −0.09 to 0.79, P = .205; tumor necrosis factor-alpha: g = .11, 95% CI = −0.33 to 0.55, P = .686). Patients whose ICs attended ERT-C experienced a large increase in quality of life post-treatment (g = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.18 to 1.58, P = .017). Conclusions To our knowledge, this is the first randomized controlled trial evaluating the efficacy of ERT-C for ICs. Given the previous disappointing effects of other cognitive behavioral therapies for this population, the present findings are very encouraging. Identifying ICs with elevated psychological distress and providing them with relevant psychotherapy appears an important element of comprehensive cancer care.

Long-term efficacy of indicated prevention of depression in non-professional caregivers: randomized controlled trial

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (7) ◽  
pp. 1401-1412 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. Otero ◽  
F. Smit ◽  
P. Cuijpers ◽  
A. Torres ◽  
V. Blanco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Caregiver Burden ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Intervention Group ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Indicated Prevention ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Term Efficacy

BackgroundAlthough depression is a common problem among non-professional caregivers, only one trial has evaluated the efficacy of indicated prevention targeting this population and the long-term efficacy is unknown. The aim of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of a brief intervention for the indicated prevention of depression in a sample of female caregivers.MethodA randomized controlled trial was conducted involving 173 participants (mean age 53.9 years) who were allocated to the intervention (n = 89) or the usual-care control group (n = 84). Blinded interviewers conducted assessments at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months of follow-up. The main outcome measure was the incidence of major depression and the secondary outcomes were compliance with treatment, depressive symptoms, emotional distress and caregiver burden.ResultsAt the 12-month follow-up, a lower incidence of depression as evaluated using the Structured Clinical Interview for Axis I Disorders of the DSM-IV was found in the intervention group compared with the control group (10.1%v.25.0%). The relative risk was 0.40 and statistically significant [χ2 = 6.68, degrees of freedom = 1,p = 0.010, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.20–0.81], and the number needed to treat was 7 (95% CI 4–27). There was a significant delay in the onset of depression in the intervention group (p = 0.008). The good complier caregivers had a lower incidence of depression. The intervention effect on depressive symptoms, emotional distress and caregiver burden were maintained for 12 months.ConclusionsThis is the first study to demonstrate that a brief problem-solving intervention can prevent the onset of depression among non-professional caregivers over the longer term.

The effectiveness of a non-guided mindfulness application on perceived stress in a non-clinical Dutch population: a Randomized Controlled Trial (Preprint)

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leonieke W Kranenburg ◽  
Jamie Gillis ◽  
Birgit Mayer ◽  
Witte JG Hoogendijk
Keyword(s):  
Randomized Controlled Trial ◽  
Perceived Stress ◽  
Psychological Symptoms ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Secondary Outcome ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Dutch Population ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Experimental Group

BACKGROUND Mindfulness has become increasingly popular and positive outcomes have been reported for mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) to reduce stress. These findings make room for innovative perspectives on how MBIs could be applied, for instance through mHealth. OBJECTIVE The aim of this study is to investigate if a non-guided mindfulness mobile phone application can decrease perceived stress in a non-clinical Dutch population over the course of eight weeks, with follow-up at six months. METHODS A randomized controlled trial (RCT) was performed, comparing the experimental group that made use of a structured 8-week mHealth mindfulness program and a control group after 8 weeks, with follow-up after six months. Participants were recruited via a national television program. The primary outcome measure was perceived stress as measured by the Perceived Stress scale (PSS), secondary outcomes were symptoms of burnout (VAS) and psychological symptoms (measured by the four-dimensional symptom questionnaire ; 4DSQ at follow-up). Outcomes were analyzed using a multilevel regression model. RESULTS At baseline, 587 respondents were included. Results showed no differences between groups for the level of perceived stress. With regard to the secondary outcome measures, the VAS for emotional exhaustion and physical exhaustion showed statistically significant lower scores for the experimental group after 8 weeks (resp. p=.04 and p= .01), but not at follow-up. There were also no differences between groups found for psychological symptoms. CONCLUSIONS These findings do not support our hypothesis that using the mindfulness app would reduce stress levels. However, findings with regard to diminished exhaustion at 8 weeks are encouraging and require further investigation.

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