Randomized controlled trial of a multicomponent program for informal caregivers of Alzheimer’s patients

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the efficiency of a multicomponent plus respite care program on care burden and social support for informal caregivers of patients with major neurocognitive disorders associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Materials and Methods: A parallel randomized controlled trial was conducted with 58 caregivers who were randomly allocated to one of the following three comparison groups: a multicomponent plus respite care group (n=19), a respite care group (n=19), and a control group (n=20). Burden and social support were assessed by using the Zarit Scale and Medical Outcomes Study at baseline with a post-intervention at 5 months and follow-up at 10 months. The assessment of effects was measured by using a mixed-effects model with an unstructured covariance matrix. Results: Caregivers were mostly patients’ children (72%), female (76%) having a mean age of 55.1 years (12) and less than secondary education (58%). A significant reduction of 13.1% (95%CI -19.3:6.9) in caregiver burden was found in the multicomponent plus respite care group, showing a sustained effect at 10 months (p<0.001). A non-significant increase of 10.8% (-1.7;23.4) in post-intervention social support was found in the multicomponent plus respite care group. However, the effects increased over time achieving an increase at 13.2% (p=0.039) at the 10-month follow-up. No significant effects on caregiver burden or social support were reported for the respite care group. Conclusions: The multicomponent plus respite care group demonstrated beneficial effects on care burden and social support for Alzheimer’s caregivers.