Home › Research › Risk factors
Interventions to reduce loneliness in caregivers: An integrative review of the literature
Isabelle G Velloze, Dylan J Jester, Dilip V Jeste, Brent T Mausbach. Psychiatry research, 2022-03-12
Topic: Health services, long-term care and technology
Older adults are at an increased risk of loneliness. Many also serve as informal caregivers for persons with dementia and other disabling conditions, further predisposing them to loneliness. The primary objective was to assess current loneliness interventions for caregivers to inform development of effective therapies to improve their quality of life. An integrative review of the literature was conducted using five electronic databases and 12 studies were included for further analysis. Data were extracted regarding the type of intervention implemented, caregiver characteristics, and intervention effects. Five main intervention types emerged: mindful meditation, computer applications, music therapy, peer support, and community programs. Most care recipients had dementia, and most caregivers were spouses. Peer support was the most frequently utilized intervention, and common intervention strategies included providing emotional support, expanding one's social network, and supplying psychoeducational materials. Most interventions had methodological limitations and demonstrated small effect sizes. Hence, there remains a continued need for well-designed interventions that target loneliness in informal caregiver. Caregivers may benefit from interventions that expand their social network to improve their emotional regulation and understanding of their role. Further research on the role of group versus individual therapy is necessary to strengthen interventions and broaden their application.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Velloze, I. G., Jester, D. J., Jeste, D. V., & Mausbach, B. T. (2022). Interventions to reduce loneliness in caregivers: An integrative review of the literature. Psychiatry research. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114508
Vancouver
Velloze IG, Jester DJ, Jeste DV, Mausbach BT. Interventions to reduce loneliness in caregivers: An integrative review of the literature. Psychiatry research. 2022. doi:10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114508. PMID: 35334424.
BibTeX
@article{velloze2022-35334424,
author = {Velloze, Isabelle G and Jester, Dylan J and Jeste, Dilip V and Mausbach, Brent T},
title = {{Interventions to reduce loneliness in caregivers: An integrative review of the literature}},
journal = {Psychiatry research},
year = {2022},
doi = {10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114508},
pmid = {35334424},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2022.114508}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Older adults are at an increased risk of loneliness.
- Most interventions had methodological limitations and demonstrated small effect sizes.
- Further research on the role of group versus individual therapy is necessary to strengthen interventions and broaden their application.
New to this subject? Start with our plain-English guide: Risk factors, ranked →
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 41/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it. We have no data on journal's citation record, times cited, citations per year, impact for its field and year, cited by studies here, still being cited, senior author's track record, institution's track record, multi-centre collaboration and free to read, so those were left out: it earned 23 of the 56 points we could judge it on, which is 41 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Psychiatry research) |
| Journal's citation record | — / 4 | No journal record from OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 3 / 5 | 2022 — within 6 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | — / 7 | No citation count (not found in OpenAlex) — left out of this score |
| Citations per year | — / 5 | No citation count or no year — left out of this score |
| Impact for its field and year | — / 6 | No field-weighted citation impact (OpenAlex has none yet) — left out of this score |
| Cited by studies here | — / 6 | Not yet checked against this library's citation graph — left out of this score |
| Still being cited | — / 4 | No yearly citation counts — left out of this score |
| Senior author's track record | — / 4 | Senior author's record not available — left out of this score |
| Institution's track record | — / 3 | No institution listed in OpenAlex — left out of this score |
| Multi-centre collaboration | — / 3 | Institutions not listed — left out of this score |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 35334424) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 23 / 56 | Scored on 10 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 23 of the 56 points we could judge it on is 41 out of 100. |
| Total | 41 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
Free copy unknown: no free-copy check has an answer for this record yet. That does not mean it is paywalled.
Related studies in Risk factors
Also tagged “caregiver”
195 studies in the library carry the topic tag “caregiver”; these are this study's neighbours in a fixed, alphabetical-by-hash tour of them, not the closest in content. All 195 tagged studies.