Psychobiological effects of an eHealth psychoeducational intervention to informal caregivers of persons with dementia: a pilot study during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy.

Publisher: Springer Country of Publication: Germany NLM ID: 101132995 Publication Model: Print-Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1720-8319 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 15940667 NLM ISO Abbreviation: Aging Clin Exp Res Subsets: MEDLINE

Publication: <2013-> : Berlin : Springer
Original Publication: Milano, Italy : Editrice Kurtis, c2002-

Dementia*/therapy ; COVID-19*/epidemiology ; Telemedicine*; Humans ; Caregivers/psychology ; Pilot Projects ; Hydrocortisone ; Pandemics ; Italy ; Quality of Life

Background: The workload associated with caring for a person with dementia (PwD) could negatively affect informal caregivers' physical and mental health. According to the recent literature, there is a need for studies testing the implementation of affordable and accessible interventions for improving caregivers' well-being.
Aims: This study aimed to explore the feasibility and effectiveness of an 8 week eHealth psychoeducation intervention held during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy in reducing the psychological burden and neuroendocrine markers of stress in caregivers of PwD.
Methods: Forty-one informal caregivers of PwD completed the eHealth psychoeducation intervention. Self-reported (i.e., caregiver burden, anxiety symptoms, depressive symptoms, and caregiver self-efficacy) and cortisol measurements were collected before and after the intervention.
Results: Following the intervention, the caregivers' self-efficacy regarding the ability to respond to disruptive behaviours improved (t = - 2.817, p = 0.007), anxiety and burden levels decreased (state anxiety: t = 3.170, p = 0.003; trait anxiety: t = 2.327, p = 0.025; caregiver burden: t = 2.290, p = 0.027), while depressive symptoms and cortisol levels did not change significantly. Correlation analyses showed that the increase in self-efficacy was positively associated with the improvement of caregiver burden from pre- to post-intervention (r = 0.386, p = 0.014). The intervention had a low rate of dropout (n = 1, due to the patient's death) and high levels of appreciation.
Discussion: The positive evidence and participation rate support the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed eHealth psychoeducational intervention to meet the need for knowledge of disease management and possibly reduce detrimental effects on caregivers' psychological well-being.
Conclusion: Further placebo-controlled trials are needed to test the generalizability and specificity of our results.
(© 2023. The Author(s).)

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2019-0518 Fondazione della Comunità Bresciana; Ricerca Corrente Ministero della Salute

Keywords: Caregiver burden; Caregivers; Cortisol; Dementia; Psychoeducation; Self-efficacy

WI4X0X7BPJ (Hydrocortisone)

Date Created: 20231109 Date Completed: 20231216 Latest Revision: 20231217

20231218

PMC10721699

10.1007/s40520-023-02610-9

37943404