JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Background:

As dementia progresses, patients exhibit various psychological and behavioural symptoms, imposing a significant burden on families and society including Behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). However, caregivers lack professional care knowledge and skills, making it difficult for them to effectively cope with the diverse challenges of caregiving. Therefore, it is urgent to provide caregivers with professional knowledge and skills guidance.

Objective:

Aim: The present study aimed to analyze the impact of Internet-based Online Training on behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) in patients, and exploring how this training model affects the caregiving abilities and caregiving burden of family caregivers for dementia patients.

Methods:

Methods:

Using a consecutive enrollment method, the Department of Geriatrics at Zhejiang Hospital (Zhejiang, China) recruited 72 informal caregivers of dementia patients. These caregivers were randomly divided into an intervention group and a control group, with 36 participants in each group. The intervention group underwent caregiver skill training via an online platform, whereas the control group initially received face-to-face follow-up guidance and was subsequently offered online training after 6 months. To assess the effectiveness of the intervention program, researchers employed the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q), the Chinese version of the Zarit Caregiver Burden Interview (CZBI), and the Severe Cognitive Impairment Dementia Scale (SCIDS) for evaluations conducted before the intervention, 3 months after the intervention, and 6 months after the intervention.

Results:

Results:

Between July 2019 and December 2020, a total of 66 patients successfully completed the intervention and follow-up. After 6 months of intervention, the NPI-Q score of the intervention group was 3.18±3.81, the ZBI score was 10.97±5.43, and the SCIDS score was 71.88±4.78. The NPI-Q score of the control group was 8.09±8.52, the ZBI score was 30.30±13.05, and the SCIDS score was 50.12±9.10. There were statistically significant differences in NPI-Q (P=0.004), ZBI (P<0.001), and SCIDS scores (P<0.001) between the intervention group and the control group. Repeated measures analysis of variance showed that compared with before the intervention, there were statistically significant differences in ZBI (P<0.001) and SCIDS (P<0.001) scores three months after the intervention, while the difference in NPI-Q (P=0.105) scores was not significant. The total scores of NPI-Q (P<0.001), ZBI (P<0.001), and SCIDS (P<0.001) were significantly improved six months after the intervention. In addition, the results of covariance analysis showed that after excluding the time effect, the online training intervention significantly reduced the NPI-Q score (-2.79(-4.38, -1.19), P<0.001) of dementia patients and the ZBI score (-13.52(-15.87, -11.16), P<0.001) of caregivers, while increasing the SCIDS score (12.24(9.02, 15.47), P<0.001).

Conclusions:

Conclusion: Online training based on the internet could significantly reduce the level of behavioral symptoms in elderly patients with dementia and alleviate the burden on caregivers, enhancing their caregiving abilities. The research results fully confirmed the effectiveness and feasibility of online training, which was of great significance in providing caregiving knowledge training for informal caregivers of persons with dementia. Clinical Trial: Trial Registration Clinical Trial Registe ChiCTR2200057858; https://www.chictr.org.cn/showproj.html?proj=136442