TY - JOUR
T1 - The Effects of a Blended Care Intervention in Partners of Patients With Acquired Brain Injury - Results of the CARE4Carer Randomized Controlled Trial
AU - Welten, Jennifer J.E.
AU - Cox, Vincent C.M.
AU - van Eijk, Ruben P.A.
AU - van Heugten, Caroline M.
AU - Visser-Meily, Johanna M.A.
AU - Schepers, Vera P.M.
N1 - Funding Information:
CARE4Carer is supported by FNO, Revalidatie Nederland and the Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development (ZonMw) , grant number: 630000002 .
Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Authors
PY - 2024/2
Y1 - 2024/2
N2 - Objective: To assess effects of the CARE4Carer blended care intervention on caregiver mastery and psychosocial functioning compared with usual care in partners of patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). Design: Multicenter randomized controlled trial. Setting: Nine sites for rehabilitation medicine. Participants: 120 partners of outpatients with ABI were randomly allocated to blended care (N=59) or usual care (N=61). Intervention: The blended care intervention (20 weeks) was aimed at improving caregiving skills and consisted of 9 online sessions, combined with 2 face-to-face consultations with a social worker. Main Outcome Measures: Mastery was assessed with the Caregiver Mastery Scale, secondary outcome measures were caregiver strain (Caregiver Strain Index), family functioning (Family Assessment Device), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), burden (self-rated), and quality of life (CarerQol). Assessments were performed at baseline, 24, and 40 weeks. Results: The adjusted mean difference in caregiver mastery between intervention and control group at week 24 was 1.31 (SD3.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.12 to 2.74, P=.072) and at week 40 was 1.31 (SD3.69, 95% CI -0.26 to 2.88, P=.100). In the per protocol analysis, the adjusted mean difference in caregiver mastery at week 24 was 1.53 (SD3.38, 95% CI 0.10 to 2.96, P=.036) and at week 40 was 1.57 (SD3.63, 95% CI 0.01 to 3.14, P=.049). Regarding secondary outcomes, caregiver strain was lower in the intervention group in the per protocol analysis at week 40. Family functioning was higher in the intervention group in week 24, whereas anxiety was lower at both timepoints. Conclusions: In the subset of participants who were able to complete the intervention, caregiver mastery and psychosocial functioning improved. Future work should focus on improving adherence as this will optimize beneficial effects of blended care.
AB - Objective: To assess effects of the CARE4Carer blended care intervention on caregiver mastery and psychosocial functioning compared with usual care in partners of patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). Design: Multicenter randomized controlled trial. Setting: Nine sites for rehabilitation medicine. Participants: 120 partners of outpatients with ABI were randomly allocated to blended care (N=59) or usual care (N=61). Intervention: The blended care intervention (20 weeks) was aimed at improving caregiving skills and consisted of 9 online sessions, combined with 2 face-to-face consultations with a social worker. Main Outcome Measures: Mastery was assessed with the Caregiver Mastery Scale, secondary outcome measures were caregiver strain (Caregiver Strain Index), family functioning (Family Assessment Device), anxiety and depression (Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale), burden (self-rated), and quality of life (CarerQol). Assessments were performed at baseline, 24, and 40 weeks. Results: The adjusted mean difference in caregiver mastery between intervention and control group at week 24 was 1.31 (SD3.48, 95% confidence interval (CI) -0.12 to 2.74, P=.072) and at week 40 was 1.31 (SD3.69, 95% CI -0.26 to 2.88, P=.100). In the per protocol analysis, the adjusted mean difference in caregiver mastery at week 24 was 1.53 (SD3.38, 95% CI 0.10 to 2.96, P=.036) and at week 40 was 1.57 (SD3.63, 95% CI 0.01 to 3.14, P=.049). Regarding secondary outcomes, caregiver strain was lower in the intervention group in the per protocol analysis at week 40. Family functioning was higher in the intervention group in week 24, whereas anxiety was lower at both timepoints. Conclusions: In the subset of participants who were able to complete the intervention, caregiver mastery and psychosocial functioning improved. Future work should focus on improving adherence as this will optimize beneficial effects of blended care.
KW - Brain injury
KW - Caregiver
KW - Randomized controlled trial
KW - Rehabilitation
KW - Telehealth
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85172868429&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.apmr.2023.08.024
DO - 10.1016/j.apmr.2023.08.024
M3 - Article
C2 - 37690740
SN - 0003-9993
VL - 105
SP - 352
EP - 358
JO - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
JF - Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
IS - 2
ER -