The efficacy of dyadic interventions for community-dwelling people with dementia and their caregivers: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Most people with dementia live at home and depend on informal caregivers for care. Both caregivers and persons with dementia can experience negative psychological and behavioural effects as the disease progresses. Nonpharmacological interventions can alleviate these effects and dyadic interventions, involving both caregiver and person with dementia, may be particularly effective. In this systematic review, the effect of dyadic interventions involving community-dwelling persons with dementia and their informal caregivers was researched. This article is an update of a review of dyadic interventions up to 2012 (Van't Leven et al., 2013). Twenty-two randomized controlled trials published between January 2012 and March 2023 met eligibility criteria, representing 3857 dyads. Results of a meta-analysis showed no overall intervention effect. Thirteen studies reported positive intervention effects, 9 studies reported no intervention effects. Intervention content and participant characteristics and knowledge of the disease varied widely between the studies reviewed. Effective interventions were those that matched activities for the person with dementia to their interests and abilities and educating the caregiver about dementia and communication. Interventions of moderate length (3-4 months) tended to be more effective than longer or shorter interventions. Future studies should further explore the factors contributing to the effects of dyadic interventions.