Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review
Abstract Background Informal caregivers of persons living with dementia have an increased risk of adverse mental health effects. It is therefore important to systematically summarize published literature in order to find out which mental health interventions generate effective support for informal c...
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doaj-4847a67479b54be0890819c4c3c65ab22021-02-07T12:11:25ZengBMCBMC Geriatrics1471-23182021-02-0121111710.1186/s12877-021-02020-4Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature reviewHenrik Wiegelmann0Sarah Speller1Lisa-Marie Verhaert2Liane Schirra-Weirich3Karin Wolf-Ostermann4Institute for Public Health and Nursing Research, Health Sciences Bremen, University of BremenInstitute for Public Health and Nursing Research, Health Sciences Bremen, University of BremenDepartment of Social Services, Centre for Participation Research, Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-WestphaliaDepartment of Social Services, Centre for Participation Research, Catholic University of Applied Sciences of North Rhine-WestphaliaInstitute for Public Health and Nursing Research, Health Sciences Bremen, University of BremenAbstract Background Informal caregivers of persons living with dementia have an increased risk of adverse mental health effects. It is therefore important to systematically summarize published literature in order to find out which mental health interventions generate effective support for informal caregivers of persons living with dementia. The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of intervention content, effectiveness and subgroup differentiation of mental health interventions for informal caregivers of persons with dementia living at home. Method We searched four electronic databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Scopus and CINAHL) and included only methodically high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published in English or German language between 2009 and 2018. The intervention programmes focused on mental health of family caregivers. A narrative synthesis of the included studies is given. Results Forty-eight publications relating to 46 intervention programmes met the inclusion criteria. Burden, depression and quality of life (QoL) are the predominant parameters that were investigated. Twenty-five of forty-six interventions (54.3%) show positive effects on at least one of the outcomes examined. Most often, positive effects are reported for the outcome subjective burden (46.2%). Only six studies explicitly target on a certain subgroup of informal dementia caregivers (13%), whereas all other interventions (87%) target the group as a whole without differentiation. Conclusion The most beneficial results were found for cognitive behavioural approaches, especially concerning the reduction of depressive symptoms. Besides this, leisure and physical activity interventions show some good results in reducing subjective caregiver burden. In order to improve effectiveness, research and practice may focus on developing more targeted interventions for special dementia informal caregiver subgroups.https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02020-4DementiaInformal caregiverMental healthPsychosocial interventionsSystematic review |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Henrik Wiegelmann Sarah Speller Lisa-Marie Verhaert Liane Schirra-Weirich Karin Wolf-Ostermann |
spellingShingle |
Henrik Wiegelmann Sarah Speller Lisa-Marie Verhaert Liane Schirra-Weirich Karin Wolf-Ostermann Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review BMC Geriatrics Dementia Informal caregiver Mental health Psychosocial interventions Systematic review |
author_facet |
Henrik Wiegelmann Sarah Speller Lisa-Marie Verhaert Liane Schirra-Weirich Karin Wolf-Ostermann |
author_sort |
Henrik Wiegelmann |
title |
Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review |
title_short |
Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review |
title_full |
Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review |
title_fullStr |
Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review |
title_full_unstemmed |
Psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review |
title_sort |
psychosocial interventions to support the mental health of informal caregivers of persons living with dementia – a systematic literature review |
publisher |
BMC |
series |
BMC Geriatrics |
issn |
1471-2318 |
publishDate |
2021-02-01 |
description |
Abstract Background Informal caregivers of persons living with dementia have an increased risk of adverse mental health effects. It is therefore important to systematically summarize published literature in order to find out which mental health interventions generate effective support for informal caregivers of persons living with dementia. The objective of this study is to conduct a systematic review of intervention content, effectiveness and subgroup differentiation of mental health interventions for informal caregivers of persons with dementia living at home. Method We searched four electronic databases (PubMed, PsychINFO, Scopus and CINAHL) and included only methodically high-quality randomized controlled trials (RCTs), published in English or German language between 2009 and 2018. The intervention programmes focused on mental health of family caregivers. A narrative synthesis of the included studies is given. Results Forty-eight publications relating to 46 intervention programmes met the inclusion criteria. Burden, depression and quality of life (QoL) are the predominant parameters that were investigated. Twenty-five of forty-six interventions (54.3%) show positive effects on at least one of the outcomes examined. Most often, positive effects are reported for the outcome subjective burden (46.2%). Only six studies explicitly target on a certain subgroup of informal dementia caregivers (13%), whereas all other interventions (87%) target the group as a whole without differentiation. Conclusion The most beneficial results were found for cognitive behavioural approaches, especially concerning the reduction of depressive symptoms. Besides this, leisure and physical activity interventions show some good results in reducing subjective caregiver burden. In order to improve effectiveness, research and practice may focus on developing more targeted interventions for special dementia informal caregiver subgroups. |
topic |
Dementia Informal caregiver Mental health Psychosocial interventions Systematic review |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1186/s12877-021-02020-4 |
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