Abstract
Background Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for older people with dementia and depression/anxiety alleviates negative moods. However, CBT research focusing on this population in Japan is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a recently developed cognitive-behavioral program for people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (MCI), focusing on symptom alleviation and patient satisfaction. Method Sixteen Japanese patients with mild dementia ( n =3) and MCI ( n =13) participated in the study. A single-arm, pre-post study was implemented in two medical school hospitals in Japan. The CBT program included eight bi-weekly sessions conducted by one clinical psychologist. The feasibility and acceptability outcomes (perceived satisfaction, understanding, and usefulness of the program) were measured before and immediately after completing the sessions, and the psychological outcomes (depression, anxiety, quality of life [QOL], neuropsychiatric symptoms, and caregiver burden) were measured at three periods (i.e., before, immediately after, and three months after the intervention). A linear mixed model was adopted for comparing these outcomes. Results Three candidates were excluded because of unavailability, lack of interest, and refusal to participate; therefore, 13 candidates (81%) participated in this study. However, three participants dropped out because of lack of motivation and health-related reasons during the program. Finally, ten participants (76.9%) attended all program modules. The mean patient and caregiver satisfaction scores using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire were 31.0±10.05 and 28.0±2.83 out of 32, respectively. The linear mixed model demonstrated that the time effect was significant at a 99% level for depression ( d =1.62), anxiety ( d =1.39), and QOL ( d =1.00) for the patients, and significant at a 95% level for anxiety ( d =1.08) for their caregivers. Conclusion The study found that this CBT program is feasible and acceptable for older Japanese people with dementia and MCI. The program also improved patients’ QOL, alleviated anxiety and depressive symptoms, and decreased caregivers’ anxiety.
Effectiveness of online cognitive behavioral therapy on family caregivers of people with dementia
