Effectiveness of Caregiver Interventions on Patient Outcomes in Adults With Dementia or Alzheimer’s Disease

Objective: We conducted a systematic review to evaluate whether caregiver-involved interventions improve patient outcomes among adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Method: We identified and summarized data from randomized controlled trials enrolling adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s disea...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Gerontology and geriatric medicine 2015-07, Vol.1
Main Authors: Joan M. Griffin PhD, Laura A. Meis PhD, Nancy Greer PhD, Roderick MacDonald MS, Agnes Jensen BS, Indulis Rutks BS, Maureen Carlyle MPH, Timothy J. Wilt MD, MPH
Format: Article
Language:English
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Summary:Objective: We conducted a systematic review to evaluate whether caregiver-involved interventions improve patient outcomes among adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease. Method: We identified and summarized data from randomized controlled trials enrolling adults with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease by searching MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and other sources. Patient outcomes included global quality of life, physical and cognitive functioning, depression/anxiety, symptom control and management, and health care utilization. Results: We identified 31 trials; 20 compared a caregiver intervention with usual care or usual care with promise of intervention at completion of study period. Fifteen compared one caregiver intervention with another individual or caregiver intervention (active control). Compared with usual care or active controls, caregiver-involved interventions had low to insufficient strength of evidence and did not consistently improve patient outcomes. Discussion: Evidence is insufficient to endorse use of most caregiver interventions to improve outcomes for patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
ISSN:2333-7214
DOI:10.1177/2333721415595789