Multicomponent Intervention in Caregivers on Quality of Life of People With Dementia: a Clinical Trial

Multicomponent Intervention in Caregivers on Quality of Life of People With Dementia: a Clinical Trial

The main objective is to determine the effectiveness of a multicomponent intervention for caregivers, conducted by an expert psychologist to improve the quality of life of the people with Alzheimer's disease. Secondarily, will be analyzed the effectiveness of this program on improving anxiety and depressive symptoms, burden, happiness, social support and cognitive performance of the caregivers and alleviate the behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). The investigators analyze the caregiver's and patient's personality as a possible moderator between dependent and independent variables, and the resources utilization before and after intervention.

Methods: randomized study with parallel assignment in two groups: control and intervention group, six-month follow-up. The eligible participants will be 94 adult (≥18 years) caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease who follow-up by Osona Integrated Geriatric Unite (Catalonia, Spain).

The intervention group will receive a multicomponent intervention that includes dementia psychoeducation and management, emotional and communication skills, mindfulness and healthy lifestyle. The control group will follow the standard management according to the primary and specialized care professionals' team.

Main measurements: quality of life of the patients at baseline, after intervention and at six-month follow-up through QoL-AD. Secondary measures: they will be determined, at baseline, after the intervention and at six-month follow-up: depression (HDRS) and anxiety (HARS), burden (CBI), happiness (OHQ), quality of life (QoL-AD), social support (UCLA and DUKE-ANC), cognitive performance (neuropsychological assessment) of the caregivers, resources utilization (RUD), BPSD (NPI), cognitive status (MMSE), functional status (IADL) of the patients. Caregiver's personality at baseline and six-month follow-up and dementia characteristics at baseline will be measured. Other measures: sociodemographic and health characteristics of the caregivers and patients.

Inclusion Criteria:

• adults (≥18 years of age)
• main caregivers of people with early or mild Alzheimer's disease
• follow-up by Osona Integrated Geriatric Unite (Catalonia)
• signed informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

• non stable medical condition the last six months (or any acute or chronic condition that would limit the ability of the patient to participate in the study)
• cognitive impairment (MMSE<24)
• substance abuse
• active psychotherapy
• refusal to give informed consent