Skip to main content

Table 2 Summary characteristics of included papers

From: General practice based psychosocial interventions for supporting carers of people with dementia or stroke: a systematic review

Reference

Country Setting

Methods and intervention

Carer participants

1) Intervention group

Number* (Attrition %)

Age (years) mean (SD)

Gender % female

2) Control group

Burns et al., [29]

USA

This RCT tested two 24- month primary care interventions to alleviate the psychological distress of carers of people with AD. The interventions, using targeted educational materials, were a) patient behaviour management only (behaviour care) (A), and b) A + carer stress–coping management.

1) Enhanced care

82 (52.4 %)

65.1 (12.6)

87.4 %

PC sites

2) Behaviour management

82 (56.5 %)

64.5 (13.0)

84.6 %

Nichols et al., [30]

USA

This clinical translation was developed to test/demonstrate that a proven behavioural intervention for carers of PWD (Belle et al., [33]) could be successfully translated into clinical practice with different types of staff delivering the 6-month REACH VA intervention. This included education, support, and skills training to address five caregiving risk areas: safety, social support, problem behaviours, depression, and carer health. There was no control group.

1) REACH VA intervention

127 (22.8 %)

71.6 (11.6)

92.7 %

Home-based PC programs

n.a.

Fortinsky et al., [31]

USA

This quasi-experimental study investigated the value of employing a nurse practitioner with geropsychiatric expertise to augment care from primary care physicians for PWD and their family carers. The intervention was called PPDC. Control group patients and carers received usual care supplemented by educational materials.

1) PPDC program

21 (23.2 %)

67.4 (13.8)

48.0 %

Community-based PCP group practice

2) Usual care

10 (n.r.)

69.9 (14.9)

70.0 %

Rodriguez-Sanchez et al., [32]

Spain

In a primary health care context, this multicentre RCT tested the effect of a cognitive behavioural intervention developed to improve the mental health of carers of PWD. The control group received usual care.

1) Cognitive-behavioural intervention

83 (7.2 %)

61.1 (11.9)

73.5 %

PHC centres

2) Usual care

42 (19.0 %)

649 (11.8)

76.2 %

  1. AD Alzheimer’s disease, PC Primary care, PPDC Proactive Primary Dementia Care, RCTrandomized controlled trial, REACH VA Enhancing Alzheimer’s Caregiver Health (Department of Veterans Affairs), PWD people with dementia