Family caregiver (FC) of persons with dementia (PWD) are increasingly affected by mental and physical health which leads to poor quality of life (QoL). Telephone-based interventions offer flexible solution to support caregivers of PWD but the effectiveness needs further evaluation. This study aimed to assess the effectiveness of a telephone-based intervention in improving QoL among FC of PWD and to examine the role of caregiver burden as a mediating factor. A randomized control trial study was conducted involving 121 FCs, divided into intervention ( n = 60) and control ( n = 61) groups. The intervention group received a 10-week intervention by the healthcare professionals via telephone. QoL were measured using the validated Malay version of Control, Autonomy, Self-Realization and Pleasure (CASP-19) at baseline (T0) and endline (T1). Intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis was performed to determine the independent effect of the intervention on QoL, and mediation analysis was conducted using the multiple linear regression and bootstrap analysis. Participants in the intervention group showed a statistically significant improvement in QoL (β = 5.00, 95% CI 2.21–7.78, p = 0.001). Mediation analysis revealed that caregiver burden mediated the relationship between the telephone-based intervention and QoL. Additionally, reduction of caregiver burden was observed to mediate the relationship between telephone-based intervention and reduced anxiety symptoms. Telephone-based intervention was effective in improving the QoL among FCs of PWD. The findings also suggest that caregiver burden plays a mediating role in this process, underscoring the need for policymakers to integrate burden-reduction training into future programs. ISRCTN14565552.
Nasreen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.