Livingston, G;
Barber, J;
Rapaport, P;
Knapp, M;
Griffin, M;
King, D;
Romeo, R;
... Cooper, C; + view all
(2014)
Long-term clinical and cost-effectiveness of psychological intervention for family carers of people with dementia: a single-blind, randomised, controlled trial.
LANCET PSYCHIATRY
, 1
(7)
539 - 548.
10.1016/S2215-0366(14)00073-X.
![[thumbnail of START long term 2014.pdf]](https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/style/images/fileicons/application_pdf.png) Preview |
PDF
START long term 2014.pdf Download (439kB) |
|
PDF
Supp.Appendix.pdf Download (3MB) |
Abstract
Background Two-thirds of people with dementia live at home supported mainly by family carers. These carers frequently develop clinical depression or anxiety, which predicts care breakdown. We aimed to assess the clinical effectiveness (long-term reduction of depression and anxiety symptoms in family carers) and cost-effectiveness of a psychological intervention called START (STrAtegies for RelaTives). Methods We did a randomised, parallel-group trial with masked outcome assessments in three UK mental-health services and one neurological-outpatient dementia service. We included self-identified family carers of people with dementia who had been referred in the previous year and gave support at least once per week to the person with dementia. We randomly assigned these carers, via an online computer-generated randomisation system from an independent clinical trials unit, to either START, an 8-session, manual-based coping intervention delivered by supervised psychology graduates, or treatment as usual (TAU). The primary long-term outcomes were affective symptoms (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale total score [HADS-T]) 2 years after randomisation and cost-effectiveness (health and social care perspectives) over 24 months. Analysis was by intention to treat, excluding carers with data missing at both 12 and 24 months. This trial is registered ISCTRN70017938.
Archive Staff Only
 |
View Item |
