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Psychosocial telephone intervention for dementia caregivers: A randomized, controlled trial
Author(s) -
Tremont Geoffrey,
Davis Jennifer D.,
Papandonatos George D.,
Ott Brian R.,
Fortinsky Richard H.,
Gozalo Pedro,
Yue Mun Sang,
Bryant Kimberly,
Grover Christine,
Bishop Duane S.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1016/j.jalz.2014.05.1752
Subject(s) - randomized controlled trial , psychosocial , dementia , intervention (counseling) , psychological intervention , medicine , family caregivers , caregiver burden , telephone call , physical therapy , psychiatry , disease , engineering , electrical engineering
Background Identifying effective and accessible interventions for dementia caregivers is critical as dementia prevalence increases. Objective Examine the effects of a telephone‐based intervention on caregiver well‐being. Design Randomized, controlled trial. Setting Academic medical center. Participants Two hundred and fifty distressed, family, dementia caregivers. Intervention Caregivers randomized to receive 16 telephone contacts over 6 months of either the Family Intervention: Telephone Tracking—Caregiver (FITT‐C) or Telephone Support (TS). Outcome Primary outcome variables were family caregivers' depressive symptoms, burden, and reactions to care recipients' behavior problems at 6 months. Results The FITT‐C intervention resulted in significantly improved caregiver depressive symptoms ( P = .003; 27% net improvement) and less severe reactions to care‐recipient depressive behaviors ( P = .009; 29% net improvement) compared with the control condition (TS). Conclusion An entirely telephone‐based intervention improves caregivers' depressive symptoms and reactions to behavior problems in the care recipient and is comparable with reported results of face‐to‐face interventions.