Table 1.
Characteristics of the caregivers and care recipients in the intervention and control groups at baseline
| Characteristics | Intervention (n = 30) | Control (n = 28) | p |
| Caregivers | |||
| Age, y, median (IQR) | 59.0 (55.8–63.3) | 67.0 (48.0–68.0) | 0.14b |
| Sex, female, n (%) | 26 (86.7) | 21 (67.7) | 0.08a |
| Educational level, n (%) | 0.86a | ||
| Primary school or less | 7 (23.3) | 6 (21.4) | |
| Junior high school or above | 23 (76.7) | 22 (78.6) | |
| Years of care, median (IQR) | 5.0 (2.8–6.3) | 3.0 (2.0–6.0) | 0.08b |
| Days of care/week, median (IQR) | 7.0 (7.0–7.0) | 7.0 (7.0–7.0) | > 0.99b |
| Hours of care/day, median (IQR) | 9.0 (6.0–12.0) | 8.0 (6.0–10.0) | 0.25b |
| Cohabitation time, y, median (IQR) | 35.0 (18.8–46.3) | 36.5 (26.5–51.4) | 0.56b |
| Economic affordability, n (%) | 19 (63.3) | 22 (78.6) | 0.20a |
| Number of assistants, n (%) | 10 (33.3) | 18 (64.3) | 0.02a |
| SSCQ, median (IQR) | 19.0 (15.8–22.0) | 19.5 (17.3–23.8) | 0.25b |
| Caregiver distress index (NPI-D), median (IQR) | 15.0 (8.0–30.0) | 9.5 (5.0–19.5) | 0.09b |
| Physical health (SF-36), median (IQR) | 59.0 (55.2–61.0) | 61.5 (58.7–65.8) | 0.03b |
| Mental health (SF-36), median (IQR) | 36.5 (30.8–43.0) | 50.5 (43.5–53.8) | < 0.001b |
| Care recipient | |||
| Age, y, median (IQR) | 82.0 (77.8–86.0) | 84.0 (74.5–87.8) | 0.48b |
| Sex, female, n (%) | 21 (70.0) | 14 (50.0) | 0.12a |
| Educational level, n (%) | 0.81a | ||
| Primary school or less | 17 (56.7) | 15 (53.6) | |
| Junior high school or above | 13 (43.3) | 13 (46.4) | |
| Dementia severity, n (%) | 0.98a | ||
| Mild | 18 (60.0) | 16 (57.2) | |
| Moderate | 8 (26.7) | 9 (32.1) | |
| Severe | 4 (13.3) | 3 (10.7) | |
| Dementia duration, month, median (IQR) | 51.0 (35.0–111.8) | 44.5 (29.0–87.8) | 0.39b |
| ADL, median (IQR) | 15.0 (13.0–21.0) | 17.0 (12.3–18.8) | 0.83b |
| BPSD severity of people with dementia (NPI-S), median (IQR) | 15.0 (8.0–30.0) | 9.5 (5.0–19.5) | 0.06b |
aPearson’s chi-squared test; bMann–Whitney U test. ADL, activities of daily life; BPSD, behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia; IQR, interquartile range; NPI, neuropsychiatric inventory; SSCQ, short sense of competence questionnaire.