Articles: caregivers.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Randomized clinical trial of a brief and extensive dyadic intervention for advanced cancer patients and their family caregivers.
Few intervention programs assist patients and their family caregivers to manage advanced cancer and maintain their quality of life (QOL). This study examined (i) whether patient-caregiver dyads (i.e., pairs) randomly assigned to a brief or extensive dyadic intervention (the FOCUS Program) had better outcomes than dyads randomly assigned to usual care and (ii) whether patients' risk for distress and other factors moderated the effect of the brief or extensive program on outcomes. ⋯ Both brief and extensive programs had positive outcomes for patient-caregiver dyads, but few sustained effects. Patient-caregiver dyads benefit when viewed as the 'unit of care'.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Conducting the ACTIVE randomized trial in hospice care: keys to success.
Untreated pain is common for patients at the end of life. Informal caregivers, often family or friends of patients, are responsible for working with hospice staff to provide pain management. Interdisciplinary team meetings conducted in hospices every 2 weeks provide an opportunity for hospice staff to communicate about pain management with informal caregivers of hospice patients. ⋯ The challenges of conducting randomized trials with hospice patients and caregivers can be addressed with appropriate study design, well-tested research methods, and proactive monitoring of any issues or problems.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study
Quality of life and mental health in caregivers of outpatients with advanced cancer.
This study evaluates the quality of life (QOL) and mental health (MH) of caregivers of patients with advanced cancer who are receiving ambulatory oncology care and associations with patient, caregiver and care-related characteristics. ⋯ Caregivers of ambulatory patients with advanced cancer may have compromised QOL and MH associated with worse patient physical and emotional well-being and with simultaneously caring for others and working outside the home. Early palliative care interventions directed at patient symptoms and caregiver support may improve QOL in this population.
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Cost effectiveness of a manual based coping strategy programme in promoting the mental health of family carers of people with dementia (the START (STrAtegies for RelaTives) study): a pragmatic randomised controlled trial.
To assess whether the START (STrAtegies for RelatTives) intervention added to treatment as usual is cost effective compared with usual treatment alone. ⋯ The manual based coping intervention START, when added to treatment as usual, was cost effective compared with treatment as usual alone by reference to both outcome measures (affective symptoms for family carers, and carer based QALYs).
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Randomized Controlled Trial Multicenter Study Pragmatic Clinical Trial
Clinical effectiveness of a manual based coping strategy programme (START, STrAtegies for RelaTives) in promoting the mental health of carers of family members with dementia: pragmatic randomised controlled trial.
To assess whether a manual based coping strategy compared with treatment as usual reduces depression and anxiety symptoms in carers of family members with dementia. ⋯ A manual based coping strategy was effective in reducing affective symptoms and case level depression in carers of family members with dementia. The carers' quality of life also improved.