JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Non-professional caregivers who provide support to an individual with a psychiatric or neurological disorder will often themselves experience symptoms of stress, anxiety, and low mood, and perceive that they receive little support. Internet-based interventions have previously been found to be effective in the treatment and prevention of a range of mental health difficulties.

Objective:

The current review seeks to investigate the status of existing internet-based interventions for informal carers of people with psychiatric and neurological disorders or traumatic brain injury, establishing the degree to which they improve carer mental health.

Methods:

A systematic literature search was conducted in October 2017 using the Embase (1974 – present), Ovid MEDLINE (1946 – present), PsychARTICLES, PsychINFO (1806 – present) and Global Health (1973 – present) databases, via the Ovid Technologies database. Search terms included carer, caregiver, online, technology, web-based, interactive, intervention, and evaluation. Studies selected for inclusion in this review met the following predetermined criteria: (i) delivering an intervention aimed primarily at informal (non-professional) caregivers; of (ii) individuals with psychiatric disorders, stroke, dementia, or brain injury; (iii) the intervention delivered to the caregivers was primarily internet-based; (iv) the study reported a pre- and post- quantitative measure of caregiver depression, anxiety, stress, burden, or quality of life; (v) appearing in a peer-reviewed journal; and (vi) accessible in English.

Results:

A total of 39 studies were identified for inclusion through the detailed search strategy. The search was conducted and data information extracted independently by two researchers. Studies were found to vary greatly with regards to both methodological quality, and reported efficacy/effectiveness of the intervention on measures relating to caregiver mental health, however, the majority of studies did report that one or more measures relating to carer mental health was found to improve following receipt of a relevant intervention.

Conclusions:

Studies investigating internet-based interventions for carers of individuals with psychiatric and neurological difficulties and brain injury show some evidence in support of the effectiveness of internet-based interventions, and additionally, that such interventions are likely to be found acceptable by the caring population. The evidence currently available within this field is of varying quality, and has some methodological shortcomings. Further research in this area is required to establish how specific components, such as the structure and interactivity of the intervention, may contribute to the overall efficacy of the intervention with regards to carer mental health, and how this frequently underserved population can best be supported.