PMID- 30626439 OWN - NLM STAT- MEDLINE DCOM- 20190417 LR - 20200225 IS - 1472-6963 (Electronic) IS - 1472-6963 (Linking) VI - 19 IP - 1 DP - 2019 Jan 9 TI - Brief telephone counselling is effective for caregivers who do not experience any major life events - caregiver-related outcomes of the German day-care study. PG - 20 LID - 10.1186/s12913-018-3853-8 [doi] LID - 20 AB - BACKGROUND: To date, there has been a dearth of scientifically tested, established intervention concepts focussed on supporting informal caregivers and embedded in routine health care structures. The aim of this study was to assess effects of a brief telephone intervention for caregivers of persons with cognitive impairment (PCIs) on caregivers' depressiveness and subjective burden. METHODS: A two-arm cluster-randomised controlled intervention study was carried out at 32 German day-care centres. During the six-month intervention period, informal caregivers in the intervention group (n = 205) received counselling in three phone calls focussed on stress reduction, development of self-management strategies, and how to deal with challenging behaviours. Both the control group (n = 154) and the intervention group were free to take part in any support programmes offered by the German Health Care System (TAU). Caregivers' subjective burden and depressiveness were measured with the Burden Scale for Family Caregivers - short version (BSFC-s) and the WHO-5 Well-Being Index (WHO-5). Outcomes were assessed by means of computer-assisted telephone interviews (CATIs) at baseline and at the end of the six-month intervention phase. Multiple regression analyses were used to show the influence of group allocation. RESULTS: After the intervention phase, group allocation was not found to significantly predict caregivers' subjective burden or depressiveness. The baseline scores (p < 0.001) were the only significant predictors of change in both outcomes. However, sensitivity analyses for caregivers who did not experience any events that they felt were major (in a negative or positive sense) during the six months (n = 271) showed that group allocation (p < 0.05) was a significant predictor of positive change in both outcomes (BSFC-s: Delta-1.3, [- 2.4, - 0.3], Cohen's d = 0.27; WHO-5: Delta1.5, [0.4, 2.7], Cohen's d = 0.26). Effect sizes were highest in the subgroup of caregivers of people with mild dementia (BSFC-s: Cohen's d = 0.43; WHO-5: Cohen's d = 0.42). CONCLUSIONS: A "low-dose" psychoeducative telephone intervention designed to empower caregivers is effective, especially in an early stage, if the overlap between the effect of the intervention and the effect of events that are experienced as major events in the caregiver's life is considered. TRIAL REGISTRATION: Identifier: ISRCTN16412551 (Registration date: 30 July 2014, registered retrospectively). FAU - Behrndt, Elisa-Marie AU - Behrndt EM AUID- ORCID: 0000-0001-8031-0495 AD - Centre for Health Services Research in Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU), Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany. elisa-marie.behrndt@uk-erlangen.de. FAU - Straubmeier, Melanie AU - Straubmeier M AD - Centre for Health Services Research in Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU), Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany. FAU - Seidl, Hildegard AU - Seidl H AD - Institute of Health Economics and Health Care Management, Helmholtz Zentrum Munchen, Ingolstadter Landstrasse 1, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany. FAU - Vetter, Chiara AU - Vetter C AD - Centre for Health Services Research in Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU), Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany. FAU - Luttenberger, Katharina AU - Luttenberger K AD - Centre for Health Services Research in Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU), Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany. FAU - Graessel, Elmar AU - Graessel E AD - Centre for Health Services Research in Medicine, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nurnberg (FAU), Schwabachanlage 6, 91054, Erlangen, Germany. LA - eng PT - Journal Article PT - Randomized Controlled Trial DEP - 20190109 PL - England TA - BMC Health Serv Res JT - BMC health services research JID - 101088677 SB - IM MH - Adaptation, Psychological MH - *Adult Day Care Centers MH - Aged MH - Caregivers/*psychology MH - Cognitive Dysfunction/*therapy MH - *Counseling MH - Female MH - Germany MH - Humans MH - Male MH - Middle Aged MH - Retrospective Studies MH - Social Support MH - *Telephone PMC - PMC6325874 OTO - NOTNLM OT - Day-care OT - Dementia, MCI OT - Informal caregivers OT - Telephone intervention COIS- ETHICS APPROVAL AND CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE: All procedures were approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical Faculty of the Friedrich-Alexander-University Erlangen-Nuremberg (Ref. 170_14 B). Participation was voluntary, and participants were free to leave the study at any time. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants. CONSENT FOR PUBLICATION: Not applicable. COMPETING INTERESTS: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. PUBLISHER'S NOTE: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. EDAT- 2019/01/11 06:00 MHDA- 2019/04/18 06:00 PMCR- 2019/01/09 CRDT- 2019/01/11 06:00 PHST- 2018/01/10 00:00 [received] PHST- 2018/12/26 00:00 [accepted] PHST- 2019/01/11 06:00 [entrez] PHST- 2019/01/11 06:00 [pubmed] PHST- 2019/04/18 06:00 [medline] PHST- 2019/01/09 00:00 [pmc-release] AID - 10.1186/s12913-018-3853-8 [pii] AID - 3853 [pii] AID - 10.1186/s12913-018-3853-8 [doi] PST - epublish SO - BMC Health Serv Res. 2019 Jan 9;19(1):20. doi: 10.1186/s12913-018-3853-8.