TY - JOUR
T1 - Pilot controlled trial of mindfulness meditation and education for dementia caregivers
AU - Oken, Barry S.
AU - Fonareva, Irina
AU - Haas, Mitchell
AU - Wahbeh, Helane
AU - Lane, James B.
AU - Zajdel, Daniel
AU - Amen, Alexandra
PY - 2010/10/1
Y1 - 2010/10/1
N2 - Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether a mindfulness meditation intervention may be effective in caregivers of close relatives with dementia and to help refine the protocol for future larger trials. Design: The design was a pilot randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness meditation intervention adapted from the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program in relation to two comparison groups: an education class based on Powerful Tools for Caregivers serving as an active control group and a respite-only group serving as a pragmatic control. Settings/location: This study was conducted at the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR. Subjects: The subjects were community-dwelling caregivers aged 45-85 years of close relatives with dementia. Interventions: The two active interventions lasted 7 weeks, and consisted of one 90-minute session per week along with at-home implementation of knowledge learned. The respite-only condition provided the same duration of respite care that was needed for the active interventions. Outcome measures: Subjects were assessed prior to randomization and again after completing classes at 8 weeks. The primary outcome measure was a self-rated measure of caregiver stress, the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (RMBPC). Secondary outcome measures included mood, fatigue, self-efficacy, mindfulness, salivary cortisols, cytokines, and cognitive function. We also evaluated self-rated stress in the subjects' own environment, expectancy of improvement, and credibility of the interventions. Results: There were 31 caregivers randomized and 28 completers. There was a significant effect on RMBPC by group covarying for baseline RMBPC, with both active interventions showing improvement compared with the respite-only group. Most of the secondary outcome measures were not significantly affected by the interventions. There was an intervention effect on the caregiver self-efficacy measure and on cognitive measures. Although mindfulness was not impacted by the intervention, there were significant correlations between mindfulness and self-rated mood and stress scores. Conclusions: Both mindfulness and education interventions decreased the self-rated caregiver stress compared to the respite-only control.
AB - Objectives: The objectives of this study were to evaluate whether a mindfulness meditation intervention may be effective in caregivers of close relatives with dementia and to help refine the protocol for future larger trials. Design: The design was a pilot randomized trial to evaluate the effectiveness of a mindfulness meditation intervention adapted from the Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy program in relation to two comparison groups: an education class based on Powerful Tools for Caregivers serving as an active control group and a respite-only group serving as a pragmatic control. Settings/location: This study was conducted at the Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR. Subjects: The subjects were community-dwelling caregivers aged 45-85 years of close relatives with dementia. Interventions: The two active interventions lasted 7 weeks, and consisted of one 90-minute session per week along with at-home implementation of knowledge learned. The respite-only condition provided the same duration of respite care that was needed for the active interventions. Outcome measures: Subjects were assessed prior to randomization and again after completing classes at 8 weeks. The primary outcome measure was a self-rated measure of caregiver stress, the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (RMBPC). Secondary outcome measures included mood, fatigue, self-efficacy, mindfulness, salivary cortisols, cytokines, and cognitive function. We also evaluated self-rated stress in the subjects' own environment, expectancy of improvement, and credibility of the interventions. Results: There were 31 caregivers randomized and 28 completers. There was a significant effect on RMBPC by group covarying for baseline RMBPC, with both active interventions showing improvement compared with the respite-only group. Most of the secondary outcome measures were not significantly affected by the interventions. There was an intervention effect on the caregiver self-efficacy measure and on cognitive measures. Although mindfulness was not impacted by the intervention, there were significant correlations between mindfulness and self-rated mood and stress scores. Conclusions: Both mindfulness and education interventions decreased the self-rated caregiver stress compared to the respite-only control.
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U2 - 10.1089/acm.2009.0733
DO - 10.1089/acm.2009.0733
M3 - Article
C2 - 20929380
AN - SCOPUS:77958196009
SN - 1075-5535
VL - 16
SP - 1031
EP - 1038
JO - Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
JF - Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine
IS - 10
ER -