Background: Caregiving for a family member can result in reduced well-being for the caregiver. Internet-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (ICBT) may be one way to support this population. This is especially the case for caregivers in countries with limited resources, but high demand for psychological services.
Objective: In this study we evaluated the effects of a therapist-guided 8-week-long ICBT intervention for informal caregivers.
Methods: In total, 63 participants were recruited online and randomized either to the intervention or to the wait-list control group. The main study outcome was the Caregiver Burden Inventory (CBI). Secondary outcomes included measures of caregiver depression, anxiety, stress, and quality of life.
Results: Moderate between-group effect sizes were observed for the CBI measure, in favor of the intervention group, with a Cohen d=-0.70 for the intention-to-treat analysis. Analyses of the subscales of the CBI showed significant reductions on the subscales of Development and Physical Health. Moderate reductions were found for depression and anxiety scores as indicated by the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) and Generalized Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD-7) scores. Large between-group effects were observed for reduction in stress and increase in quality of life as indicated by the Perceived Stress Scale-14 (PSS-14), The Brunnsviken Brief Quality of Life Scale (BBQ), and The World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5). In addition, participants experienced little to no difficulty in using the program and were mostly satisfied with the intervention's platform and the choice of content.
Conclusions: This is the first internet intervention study for informal caregivers in Lithuania. The results suggest that therapist-guided ICBT can be effective in reducing caregiver burden, anxiety, depression, stress, and improving quality of life.
Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04052724; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04052724.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
|---|---|
| http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8060860 | PMC |
| http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/21466 | DOI Listing |
Publication Analysis
Top Keywords
Similar Publications
Is middle East pain syndrome (MEPS) a variant of fibromyalgia syndrome or a distinct disease?
BMC Rheumatol
January 2025
Rheumatology Department, Al-Azhar University Faculty of Medicine for Girls, 74 Ali Amin St, Nasr City, PO 11727, Cairo, Egypt.
Background: Fibromyalgia Syndrome (FMS) is a chronic disabling musculoskeletal condition of unknown aetiology characterized by generalized musculoskeletal pain, extreme fatigue, mood disturbance, impaired cognition, and lack of refreshing sleep. Middle East pain syndrome (MEPS) is a newly described pollution-induced syndrome of hyperparathyroidism and fibromyalgia mimicking rheumatoid arthritis, characterized by the radiological presence of spur-like excrescences in terminal phalanges. This study aimed to explore the inflammatory nature of Middle East pain and Fibromyalgia syndromes.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFShift work schedules alter immune cell regulation and accelerate cognitive impairment during aging.
J Neuroinflammation
January 2025
Department of Neuroscience and Experimental Therapeutics, School of Medicine, Texas A&M Health Science Center, Bryan, TX, 77807-3260, USA.
Background: Disturbances of the sleep-wake cycle and other circadian rhythms typically precede the age-related deficits in learning and memory, suggesting that these alterations in circadian timekeeping may contribute to the progressive cognitive decline during aging. The present study examined the role of immune cell activation and inflammation in the link between circadian rhythm dysregulation and cognitive impairment in aging.
Methods: C57Bl/6J mice were exposed to shifted light-dark (LD) cycles (12 h advance/5d) during early adulthood (from ≈ 4-6mo) or continuously to a "fixed" LD12:12 schedule.
Developing and evaluating a gamified self-management application for inflammatory bowel disease using the ADDIE model and Sukr framework.
BMC Med Inform Decis Mak
January 2025
Medical Informatics Department, Faculty of Medicine, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, 13944-91388, Iran.
Background: The prevalence and chronic nature of Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IBD) is a significant global concern. As the essential part of treatments approach, patient adherence to treatment protocols and self-management practices are crucial to = IBD management. Healthcare initiatives focused on chronic conditions are strongly needed to consider various aspects of gamification and how it can positively affect self-management.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPsychological interventions for refugees with depression: a systematic literature review.
BMC Psychiatry
January 2025
Department of Medical Psychology, University Medical Centre Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany.
Background: Ongoing global crises are forcing an increasing number of people to seek refuge in other countries. Refugees have often experienced multiple potentially traumatic events before and during their flight and are burdened by psychosocial problems in exile. Epidemiological research suggests that many refugees suffer from depression and need psychological care.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFPremature birth changes wiring constraints in neonatal structural brain networks.
Nat Commun
January 2025
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
Structural brain organization in infancy is associated with later cognitive, behavioral, and educational outcomes. Due to practical limitations, such as technological advancements and data availability of fetal MRI, there is still much we do not know about the early emergence of topological organization. We combine the developing Human Connectome Project's large infant dataset with generative network modeling to simulate the emergence of network organization over early development.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWant AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?
Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!