Cove 2014.

Study characteristics
Methods	RCT
Participants	N = 47 (22F/25M) DSM‐IV criteria for dementia of any type (62% Alzheimer's or mixed) 62% receiving dementia medications Mean MMSE 22.8 (SD 3.4) Age 77.3 (SD 7.0) Living in the community
Interventions	CST groups + carer training (N = 21) CST groups (N = 24) Waiting‐list controls (N = 23)
Outcomes	Cognitive: MMSE, ADAS‐Cog Quality of Life: QoL‐AD Quality of Caregiver‐Patient Relationship (QCPR)
Notes	Comparison of interest was CST groups versus controls; 45 minutes, once a week for 14 weeks.
Risk of bias
Bias	Authors' judgement	Support for judgement
Random sequence generation (selection bias)	Low risk	"Participants were randomized using the block method to achieve equal group sizes using Random Allocation Software".
Allocation concealment (selection bias)	Low risk	Although randomisation appeared to have preceded baseline assessment, it seemed to be independent of assessment.
Blinding of outcome assessment (detection bias) All outcomes	Low risk	Assessors clearly blinded
Incomplete outcome data (attrition bias) All outcomes	Low risk	3/24 withdrew from CST and 2/24 from controls, but ITT analysis used (LOCF). 1 person withdrew from controls before assessment, and was not included, but probably minimal effect.
Selective reporting (reporting bias)	Low risk	All outcomes reported
Other bias ‐ training and supervision	Unclear risk	Groups run by clinicians ‐ no mention of training or supervision
Other bias ‐ treatment manual	Low risk	The study followed the standardised CST manual (Spector 2006).