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BACKGROUND: Family caregivers of persons with dementia experience a substantial caregiver burden. Digital psychological interventions represent a promising approach to mitigating this burden. OBJECTIVES: This study aims to examine the impact of digital psychological interventions on the caregiver burden of dementia caregivers and investigates potential effect-modifying factors and assesses their effects on depression, self-efficacy and quality of life. METHODS: This study systematically searched six databases for randomized controlled trials or non-randomized studies of interventions and included studies from database inception to 18 May 2025. Meta-analysis was performed using Review Manager 5.4, and subgroup analysis explored the effects of different intervention duration, formats and technological platforms. RESULTS: A total of 16 studies involving 750 family caregivers were included. Meta-analysis showed digital psychological interventions significantly reduced caregiver burden Standardized mean difference (SMD) = -0.21, 95% CI: -0.35 to -0.07; P = .003 and improved self-efficacy (SMD = 0.38, 95% CI: 0.15 to 0.61, P = .001) and quality of life (SMD = 0.59, 95% CI: 0.27 to 0.91, P < .001). But digital psychological interventions have no statistically significant in alleviating depressive symptoms (P = .06). Subgroup analyses revealed that interventions lasting ≤2 months, whether delivered in group or individual formats and implemented via web-based or mobile application platforms, had statistically significant effects on caregiver burden. CONCLUSION: Digital psychological interventions effectively alleviate caregiver burden and enhance their self-efficacy and quality of life. Future studies should prioritize short-term interventions and develop integrated approaches combining individual and group formats.
Hua et al. (2025) studied this question.