Internet-delivered therapy for family carers of people with dementia (iACT4CARERS)

A new paper in the International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-being examined the impact of internet-delivered, therapist-guided, self-help Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for family carers of people with dementia (iACT4CARERS).  A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews was employed with family carers (N = 23) taking part in a feasibility study of iACT4CARERS. The interviews were audiorecorded, transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis. Results showed that four overarching themes were identified: 1) usefulness and relevance of the content of the sessions, 2) sense of connectedness, 3) the impact of the intervention on participants and 4) acceptability of the online delivery. Positive carer experiences and intervention acceptability were facilitated by learning helpful ACT skills, perceiving the content of the session as relatable to the carers’ needs, feeling connected to other carers and the therapist during the intervention, noticing the benefits of the intervention and the user-friendliness of the online platform. Recommendations for a full-scale trial were identified, such as the inclusion of some “face-to-face” interactions (e.g., via video call) between carers and therapists to facilitate a bidirectional interaction and the provision of an additional aide-memoire to improve the learning experiences. Conclusion: Overall, the intervention was acceptable to the family carers. The proposed recommendations should be considered in a full-scale trial.

For the abstract (open access)