Abstract
Introduction
Dementia poses a considerable socioeconomic burden to society. On a global scale,
family and other unpaid care predominates. Supporting caregivers is crucial, but scalable
interventions are currently lacking. Because a growing number of studies have suggested
that online training and support programs hold considerable promise for scaling up,
we reviewed existing literature.
Methods
We systematically searched 6 databases to identify studies of Internet-based interventions
designed to train and support caregivers of people with dementia, and we formally
assessed risk of bias. Our prespecified primary outcomes of interest included both
mental health and caregiver burden/perceived stress. Our secondary outcomes of interest
included knowledge, quality of life of caregivers, quality of care, caregiver response
to challenging behaviors, coping, and self-efficacy.
Results
Eight randomized control trials met our inclusion criteria involving over 900 participants.
The content and structure of Internet-based interventions, outcome measures, and duration
differed markedly, and selection, performance, and reporting biases were varied and
on occasion of concern. Six studies reported outcomes in caregivers' mental health
outcomes, 3 studies reported burden outcomes. Three studies reported knowledge skills,
quality of life and reaction to challenging behaviours, whereas 2 studies reported
changes in coping outcomes and self-efficacy. No studies reported outcomes on quality
of care.
Discussion
Although there is some evidence that Internet-based interventions can improve mental
health outcomes for informal caregivers of people with dementia, marked methodological
diversity across studies prevented the robust pooling of the results. A concerted
and cohesive approach from all stakeholders is now required to help realize the full
potential of this emerging field.
Keywords
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Article info
Publication history
Published online: January 04, 2018
Footnotes
The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The authors alone are responsible for the views expressed in this article and they do not necessarily represent the views, decisions or policies of the institutions with which they are affiliated.
Funding: ACP is funded by European commission through Marie Curie Innovative Training Network (ITN) action, H2020-MSCA-ITN-2015, under grant agreement number 676265.
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© 2017 Published by Elsevier Inc. on behalf of AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.
