Telephone-coached "Graphic Narrative" Bibliotherapy for Dementia Caregivers

Telephone-coached "Graphic Narrative" Bibliotherapy for Informal Caregivers of People With Dementia

This study aims to assess the efficacy of telephone-coached graphic narrative bibliotherapy in improving dementia caregiver depressive symptoms compared with the booklet group.

This is a two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial using a repeated-measures design to examine the effects of telephone-coached graphic narrative bibliotherapy on 128 (64 per group) informal caregivers of people with dementia. Participants in the intervention group will receive eight weekly telephone-coached graphic narrative bibliotherapy sessions, plus two face-to-face booster sessions and two follow-up sessions. The control group will receive an education booklet and check-in calls. Caregiver depressive symptoms, stress and anxiety, caregiving appraisal, care-recipient neuropsychiatric symptoms, and quality of life will be measured to test the intervention's effects immediately after completion and at a 6-month follow-up.

Inclusion Criteria:

• provide unpaid care to a person diagnosed with early to moderate stage dementia;
• provide at least 14 hours of care a week for at least 3 months
• aged 18 years or above
• able to read
• have depressive symptoms
• use a message application

Exclusion Criteria:

• with an unstable physical or mental condition
• with cognitive impairment
• receiving medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment for depression
• have been included in another interventional study