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Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2008 Jun 7;336(7656):1295-7.
doi: 10.1136/bmj.39549.548831.AE. Epub 2008 May 27.

Befriending carers of people with dementia: randomised controlled trial

Georgina Charlesworth  1 , Lee Shepstone, Edward Wilson, Shirley Reynolds, Miranda Mugford, David Price, Ian Harvey, Fiona Poland
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Befriending carers of people with dementia: randomised controlled trial

Georgina Charlesworth et al. BMJ. .

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the effectiveness of a voluntary sector based befriending scheme in improving psychological wellbeing and quality of life for family carers of people with dementia.

Design: Single blind randomised controlled trial.

Setting: Community settings in East Anglia and London.

Participants: 236 family carers of people with primary progressive dementia.

Intervention: Contact with a befriender facilitator and offer of match with a trained lay volunteer befriender compared with no befriender facilitator contact; all participants continued to receive "usual care."

Main outcome measures: Carers' mood (hospital anxiety and depression scale-depression) and health related quality of life (EuroQoL) at 15 months post-randomisation.

Results: The intention to treat analysis showed no benefit for the intervention "access to a befriender facilitator" on the primary outcome measure or on any of the secondary outcome measures.

Conclusions: In common with many carers' services, befriending schemes are not taken up by all carers, and providing access to a befriending scheme is not effective in improving wellbeing. Trial registration Current CONTROLLED TRIALS: ISRCTN08130075.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None declared.

Figures

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Flow of participants through study
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Comment in

  • The carers of people with dementia.
    Butler R. Butler R. BMJ. 2008 Jun 7;336(7656):1260-1. doi: 10.1136/bmj.39567.647072.80. Epub 2008 May 27. BMJ. 2008. PMID: 18505756 Free PMC article.

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