Assessment of the 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) as a screen tool for symptoms of depression in community caregivers for adults with intellectual disabilities

Feasibility Study of Caregiver-Provided Life Review: Implementation, Adaptation, and Effects on Care Recipients' Depressive Symptoms

OBJECTIVES

This study aimed to examine the feasibility of unpaid, family/friend caregivers conducting life reviews with people with dementia in long-term care and community settings and reported on how we adapted the intervention modality under the COVID-19 pandemic.

METHODS

Twenty-one caregiver-care recipient dyads completed 6 weekly life review sessions. The intervention format was modified to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions. Primary and secondary outcome measures were analyzed based on repeated measures at baseline and post-intervention.

RESULTS

Due to the changing nature of the pandemic, we iterated the caregiver training intervention four times to accommodate caregivers' needs while having faced multiple recruitment challenges with care facility residents. Care recipients' depression appeared to have improved (p = .001).

CONCLUSIONS

Although the COVID-19 pandemic created unique recruitment challenges, all the care recipients seemed to enjoy the life review activities supported by the positive outcomes in gaining socialization opportunities. It may be beneficial to offer a more self-paced intervention modality to ease the burden on caregivers.

CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

It appears that unpaid family/friend caregivers can provide life reviews to their loved ones with dementia. Training the caregivers on how to provide life reviews can be an easy, low-risk activity that might ameliorate depressive symptoms in the care recipients.

Onset aging conditions of adults with an intellectual disability associated with primary caregiver depression

Caregivers of adults with an intellectual disability experience depressive symptoms, but the aging factors of the care recipients associated with the depressive symptoms are unknown. The objective of this study was to analyze the onset aging conditions of adults with an intellectual disability that associated with the depression scores of their primary caregivers. A cross-sectional survey was administered to gather information from 455 caregivers of adults with an intellectual disability about their symptoms of depression which assessed by a 9-item Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9). The 12 aging conditions of adults with an intellectual disability include physical and mental health. The results indicate that 78% of adults with an intellectual disability demonstrate aging conditions. Physical conditions associated with aging include hearing decline (66.3%), vision decline (63.6%), incontinence (44%), articulation and bone degeneration (57.9%), teeth loss (80.4), physical strength decline (81.2%), sense of taste and smell decline (52.8%), and accompanied chronic illnesses (74.6%). Mental conditions associated with aging include memory loss (77%), language ability deterioration (74.4%), poor sleep quality (74.2%), and easy onset of depression and sadness (50.3%). Aging conditions of adults with an intellectual disability (p<0.001) was one factor that significantly affected the presence of depressive symptom among caregivers after controlling demographic characteristics. Particularly, poor sleep quality of adults with an intellectual disability (yes vs. no, OR=3.807, p=0.002) was statistically correlated to the occurrence of significant depressive symptoms among their caregivers. This study suggests that the authorities should reorient community services and future policies toward the needs of family caregivers to decrease the burdens associated with caregiving.