Technology-Based Counselling for People with Dementia and Their Informal Carers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

BACKGROUND: Information technology can enhance timely and individual support for people with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias and their informal carers. OBJECTIVE: To review the effectiveness of technology-based counselling interventions for people with dementia and informal carers. METHODS: Randomized controlled trials of remote dementia counselling interventions were included. We searched CINAHL, Cochrane Library, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, and the Web of Science Core Collection (April 2021) in combination with citation tracking and free web searching (October to November 2021). We provide meta-analyses for caregiver depression, burden, and self-efficacy/mastery and structured reporting for other outcomes. The Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation approach and the Risk of Bias 2 tool were applied. RESULTS: We included five randomized controlled trials involving 880 participants. Interventions were provided for carers (four studies) or dyads (one study). Carers were predominantly women and were the spouses or children of people with dementia. Counselling was delivered via telephone or videoconference with two to 23 sessions over 1 to 12 months. Control groups received educational and resource materials only, standard (helpline) services, non-directive support, or home visits. Meta-analysis for our primary outcome, depressive symptoms in carers, revealed no statistically significant effect (SMD –0.15; 95% CI –0.40 to 0.10). There were also no significant effects on burden and self-efficacy/mastery. We rated the certainty of evidence as low to very low and all outcomes at an overall high risk of bias. CONCLUSION: The effectiveness of technology-based counselling interventions for people with dementia and informal carers remains uncertain. Theory-based approaches are needed for the development and evaluation of these interventions.