AGENCY AND COMMUNITY RESOURCES

Evidence-Based Caregiver Intervention Resource Center

Purpose of the Resource Center:

RCI's goal is to increase the use of "science that works" to support both professional and family caregivers. Evidence-based interventions in our view have the greatest chance of improving the health and well being of caregivers. The Evidence-Based Caregiver Intervention Resource Center provides detailed information on interventions that have been tested in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) and have been found to positively impact caregiver outcomes. Interested agencies and individuals can review the interventions contained in the center to make informed decisions about which they might like to implement in their own community.

We define evidence-based to mean that an intervention has undergone sufficient scientific evaluation to be proven to be effective and strongly linked to desirable outcomes such as reductions in caregivers' depressive symptoms and increases in measures of coping.

We define "intervention" to mean an intentional action (singular or multiple) designed for an individual or a community that alters a behavior, reduces risk or improves outcomes for caregivers and care-receivers.

What interventions are included in the Resource Center?

Interventions were obtained from a comprehensive literature search of peer-reviewed publications of randomized controlled trials published in English. Only publications whose content met the following pre-determined criteria were included: 1.) Reported on the outcome of the intervention study; 2.) Tested intervention(s) having at least one major study outcome designed to improve an aspect(s) of how caregiving affects the caregiver (e.g. caregiver burden, psychosocial status, disease-specific caregiving knowledge); 3.) Studied caregiving in the context of an adult medical patient population, and 4.) Defined Caregiving as the provision of direct patient supportive services by family or friends, though the type of activities performed by caregivers varied. We have selected those interventions that had a statistically significant positive effect on at least one outcome that directly impacted caregivers.

Each intervention is identified by the illness/disease population it is intended to serve. The drop-down menu to the right will take you to the section of the Resource Center you are interested in accessing.

Are there other empirically-based interventions for caregivers that are not represented here?

Yes - the Resource Center will be updated regularly to include additional interventions for these and other populations of caregivers, such as caregivers of special needs children. If you are aware of additional interventions that may be appropriate for inclusion in the Resource Center, we would appreciate hearing about them.

Go To the Online Resource Center