Table 1.

Overview of studies in systematic review of information and communication technology interventions for informal caregivers of persons living with dementia

Study author	Intervention type	N at the baseline, % gender, race/ethnicity in analysis	Intervention description	Who carried out the intervention	Intervention dose (how many times e.g. 1 per week)	Intervention intensity (duration and how long)	Control group type	Drop outs	Primary caregiver outcomes	Main findings
Bass et al., 2003 [17]	Telephone-based	182, % gender and race/ethnicity not reported	Care consultants contacted CGs to establish first contact. Care consultants work with CGs to establish individualized plan of care that can include tasks such as utilizing Alzheimer's Association services. It was then up to CGs.	Care consultants from Alzheimer's Association	Variable, after first session follow-ups ranged from daily to 3-month intervals depending on CG need. Average of 12 contacts in a year.	1 year, duration of sessions not stated.	Usual Care	25	Service utilization, satisfaction with managed care, caregiver depression, care-related strain	Significant decreases in some service utilization (3 of 6 measures—case management visit, direct care community services, non-Alzheimer's Association information and support services), significant increase 3 measures of CG satisfaction with managed care, significant decrease in caregiver depression, significant decrease in relationship strain.
Mahoney et al., 2003 [18]	Telephone-based	100, 80% female, 79% white, 16% black, 2% hispanic, 2% other race/ethnicity	Automated interactive voice response system. The system included numerous support features provided via the telephone including support groups, strategies to reduce disruptive behavior, and a distraction call for the care recipient.	Self-directed	Variable, range of 1 to 45 calls with an average of 11 calls over the year.	1 year, duration variable with an average 220 seconds per call. Also, a range of 1-318 minutes and an average of 55 minutes total over the year.	Education materials only	18	Bothersome nature of caregiving, anxiety, depression	No significant differences for the main effects
Martindale-Adams et al., 2013 [19]	Telephone-based	154, 83.75% female, 72.70% white, 29.25% black, 1.3% Filipino	Telephone-based support groups.	Group leaders	14 sessions over the year. Biweekly for 2 months and then monthly.	1 year, duration of sessions 1 hour.	Education materials only	15	Frequency and bother of dementia behaviors, burden, depression, general well-being	No significant differences
Tremont et al., 2008 [20]	Telephone-based	60, % gender and race/ethnicity not reported	Telephone-based psychosocial intervention to provide support and improve coping.	Therapists	23 sessions over the year. Weekly for six weeks, biweekly for 6 months, monthly for 4 months.	1 year, duration of initial call was approximately 60 minutes, then 15-30 minutes. Total amount of contact over year was approximately 12 hours.	Usual care	27	Burden, frequency and bother of dementia behaviors, depression	Significant decrease in burden and reactions to dementia behaviors
Tremont et al., 2015 [21]	Telephone-based	250, 78% female, 96% white	Telephone-based psychosocial intervention to provide support and improve coping.	Therapists	16 sessions over 6 months. 7 weekly calls, then 9 bi-weekly calls.	6 months, duration of initial call was approximately 60 minutes, then 15-30 minutes.	Attention control	∼37.5 (15%)	Depression, burden, frequency and bother of dementia behaviors	Significant decrease in depressive symptoms and reactions to dementia behaviors
Winter et al., 2006 [22]	Telephone-based	103, 100% female, 68.3% white, 31.7% black	Telephone-based support groups.	Social workers	Weekly.	6 months, duration of sessions 1 hour.	Usual care	9	Burden, depression, personal gains	No significant differences in main effects
Chang et al., 1999 [23]	Video-based	87, 100% female, 79.1% white 16.3% black	Videotapes focusing on strategies to improve PWD's dressing and eating skills. Support with coping skills and video content reinforcement provided over the telephone with a nurse.	Nurses	Weekly phone calls from a nurse. CG self-reports of viewing videotapes once or twice.	2 months, duration of phone sessions variable with a range of 5-90 minutes and average of 18.3 minutes.	Attention control	22	Burden, satisfaction, anxiety, depression	Significant increase in satisfaction, decrease in depression, decrease in anxiety over time
Connell et al., 2009 [24]	Video-based	157, 100% female, 92.7% white	Exercise intervention for female spouse caregivers of persons with dementia. Intervention included exercise and physical fitness videos and phone sessions from behavior-change counselors.	Behavior-change counselors	Total of 14 calls: Weekly for 2 months, biweekly for 2 months, and monthly for 2 months.	6 months, duration of phone sessions not specified.	Usual Care	20	Exercise, self-efficacy for exercise, self-care, depression, perceived stress, perceived burden	Significant increase in exercise and self-efficacy for exercise and decrease in perceived stress
Gallagher-Thompson et al., 2010 [25]	Video-based	76, 87.14% female, 100% Chinese American	Skill training delivered via DVD to Chinese American caregivers of persons with dementia.	Self-directed	Entire DVD was 2.5 hours: CGs encouraged to watch regularly over the intervention period.	3 months, variable duration with some participants reporting watching DVD multiple times and others reported never completing DVD.	Education materials only	6	Frequency and bother of dementia behaviors, positive affect	Significant decrease in dementia behaviors and increase in positive affect
Gant et al., 2007 [26]	Video-based	32, 100% male, race/ethnicity not reported	10 videos and weekly telephone coaching sessions. Intervention targeted male caregivers.	Coaches	Weekly phone calls.	3 months, duration of coaching calls not reported.	Attention control	4	Upset and annoyance, self-efficacy, positive and negative affect	No significant differences between groups over time
Brennan et al., 1995 [9]	Computer-based	102, 67% female, 72% white	ComputerLink system that was available for CGs to access at any time. System provided educational information, decision support, and communication features for communication between CGs. Communication boards were also monitored by a nurse who would respond to messages.	Self-directed	Variable, average 2 encounters each week.	1 year, duration of sessions variable with an average of 13 minutes.	Education control-one time training experience to identify local resources	6	Confidence in decision-making, decision-making skill, social isolation	Significantly improved decision-making confidence
Kajiyama et al., 2013 [19]	Computer-based	150, 84% female, 89% white 14% other	Internet based program with eight components consisting of embedded educational video clips.	Self-directed	CGs Encouraged to spend 7 to 10 days on each module. Website accessed an average of 6.42 times per month.	3 months, variable duration (specifics not reported).	Education materials only	47	Stress	Significant decrease in stress

NOTE. All interventions took place in the home. Attention control indicates that phone calls were received.