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Do memory clinics improve the quality of life of carers? A randomized pilot trial
D Logiudice1, W Waltrowicz, K Brown
1National Ageing Research Institute, NorthWest Hospital, Parkville, Australia. d.logiudice@medicine.uni-melb.edu.au
Objective:
To determine the effects of attendance at a memory clinic on the psychosocial health of carers.
Design:
Randomized control trial.
Participants:
Fifty community dwelling subjects with mild to moderate dementia and their carers.
Main Outcome Measures:
Carer burden, psychological morbidity and psychosocial health related quality of life at 6 and 12 months post intervention.
Main Results:
There was significant improvement in psychosocial health related quality of life of carers as measured by the psychosocial domain of the Functional Limitation Profile (FLP) at 6 months (p < 0.01), including improvement in the subgroups of alertness behaviour (p < 0.05) and social interaction (p < 0.01), after adjustment for age of subject and baseline scores. The improvement in social interaction was maintained at 12 months (p < 0.05). There was no significant difference in carer psychological morbidity (General Health Questionnaire), carer burden (Zarit family interview) or carer knowledge of dementia (Dementia Knowledge Test) at 6 or 12 months, between groups.
Conclusions:
These results demonstrate improved psychosocial health related quality of life for carers of those with mild to moderate cognitive impairment attending a memory clinic. Further research in this area is indicated, comparing memory clinic intervention with alternative support.