The Effects of Aerobic Exercise on Psychological Functioning in Family Caregivers: Secondary Analyses of a Randomized Controlled Trial.
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ABSTRACT: Background
The responsibility and stress of being a family caregiver are associated with reduced physical and mental health.Purpose
To examine whether a 24-week aerobic exercise program improves multiple aspects of psychological functioning in family caregivers.Methods
Family caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias (n = 68) were recruited and randomized into either an aerobic exercise group (n = 34) or a waitlist control group (n = 34). The exercise group was assigned a 24-week aerobic training program that incrementally increased the intensity, duration, and frequency of the exercise program until 150 min of moderate to vigorous activity were completed per week by the ninth week. Twelve measures of psychological functioning were administered at baseline and compared with responses completed following the intervention.Results
Multilevel modeling revealed significant decreases in caregiver burden (β = -4.60, 95% confidence interval [CI] = [-8.82, -0.38], RLMM2 = 0.11) and depression (β = -2.59, 95% CI = [-4.79, -0.38], RLMM2 = 0.13), as well as increases in mastery (β = 1.78, 95% CI = [0.09, 3.46], RLMM2 = .04) in the exercise intervention group compared to the control group.Conclusion
Family caregivers report high levels of depression and caregiver burden. Engagement in a 24-week exercise intervention can ameliorate the perceived burden of caregiving, symptoms of depression, and their sense of mastery.
SUBMITTER: Hives BA
PROVIDER: S-EPMC7880222 | biostudies-literature |
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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Project description:BackgroundStroke has profound impacts on families. Often, family members, including stroke survivors and the person who takes up the role of the primary caregiver, would encounter demands on finances, rehabilitation arrangement, and even conflicts. Hence, a family-oriented intervention is expected to enable families to rebuild internal and external resources to achieve optimal rehabilitation and community reintegration.ObjectiveThis study aims to describe a design of a two-tier family-oriented care management intervention for enhancing the family functioning and care capacity of the caregivers of stroke survivors.MethodsThe two-tier care management intervention was guided by a standardized protocol conducted by trained professional care managers (first tier) with the support of trained volunteers (second tier), which lasted for 8-12 weeks. Participants were recruited through collaborating hospitals according to inclusion and exclusion criteria. In order to examine the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of the two-tier care management intervention, a two-arm randomization multicenter study was designed, including an active comparison group, which was guided by a standardized protocol conducted by trained volunteers. Dyadic participants, including both stroke survivors and their primary caregivers for both groups, were invited to participate in a questionnaire survey using standardized and purposefully developed measures 3 times: before the intervention, immediately after the intervention, and 2 months after the intervention. The primary outcome was family functioning measured by the Family Role Performance Scale and Family Assessment Device-General Functioning Scale. The secondary outcomes included caregiving burden, depressive symptoms, care management strategies, and the incremental cost-effectiveness ratio.ResultsRecruitment began in January 2017 and was completed at the end of April 2019. Data collection was completed at the end of March 2020. As of March 2020, enrollment has been completed (n=264 stroke caregivers). A total of 200 participants completed the baseline questionnaires. We aim to publish the results by mid-2021.ConclusionsThis study successfully developed a two-tier care management protocol that aims to enhance the family functioning of the caregivers of stroke survivors. Guided by a standardized protocol, this family-oriented two-tier intervention protocol was found to be feasible among Chinese families.Trial registrationClinicalTrials.gov NCT03034330; https://ichgcp.net/clinical-trials-registry/NCT03034330.International registered report identifier (irrid)RR1-10.2196/16703.
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