Table 2.
General characteristics of trials included in the review (N=62)
| Characteristic | Frequency (%)a |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Country b | |
| Canada | 2 (3.2%) |
| United States of America | 13 (21.0%) |
| United Kingdom | 14 (22.6%) |
| European Union | 17 (27.4%) |
| Australia or New Zealand | 5 (8.1%) |
| Low and Middle-Income Country | 4 (6.5%) |
| Other | 9 (14.5%) |
|
| |
| Setting | |
| Primary care | 8 (12.9%) |
| Hospital care | 6 (9.7%) |
| Nursing homes | 28 (45.2%) |
| Communities | 15 (24.2%) |
| Other | 5 (8.1%) |
|
| |
| Intervention b | |
| Educational intervention targeting health professionals | 19 (30.6%) |
| Quality improvement targeting organization/health care system | 17 (27.4%) |
| Patient non-pharmacological intervention | 29 (46.8%) |
| Patient pharmacological intervention | 3 (4.8%) |
| Any intervention targeting caregiver only | 12 (19.4%) |
| Any intervention targeting the patient-caregiver dyad | 8 (12.9%) |
|
| |
| Control arm(s) | |
| No active intervention (usual care) | 40 (64.5%) |
| Scaled down version of active intervention | 14 (22.5%) |
| Placebo or sham intervention | 3 (4.8%) |
| Other active intervention (i.e., head to head comparison) | 3 (4.8%) |
| Otherc | 2 (3.2%) |
|
| |
| Data collection b | |
| Review of medical records | 21 (33.9%) |
| Routinely collected health administrative data | 2 (3.2%) |
| Mental or physical examination not required for normal care | 33 (53.2%) |
| Patient-focused questionnaires completed by patient and/or caregiver | 45 (72.6%) |
| Caregiver-focused questionnaires | 22 (35.5%) |
| Health professional questionnaires | 4 (6.5%) |
| Direct observation | 3 (4.8%) |
|
| |
| Single center or multicenter trial? | |
| Single center | 5 (8.1%) |
| Multicenter | 56 (90.0%) |
| Unclear | 1 (1.6%) |
|
| |
| Number of individuals (or dyads) randomized | |
| Mean (Standard deviation) | 574 (1958) |
| Median (Q1 to Q3) | 267 (140 to 402) |
| Range | 101 to 15,574 |
|
| |
| Journal impact factor | |
| Median (Q1 to Q3) | 3.6 (2.8 to 5.0) |
| Range | 0.9 to 27.6 |
a
Entries are frequency (%) unless otherwise indicated
b
A trial can belong to multiple categories; thus, numbers don’t add up to 100%
c
One study had two control arms: sham and usual care; another study had two control arms: scaled down version of active intervention and usual care