Using a new taxonomy to combine the uncombinable: integrating results across diverse interventions.

Overview

Researchers have examined numerous psychosocial and behavioral interventions intended to alleviate distress among family caregivers of persons with dementia. Many of these interventions are complex, combining numerous treatment components. Although some multicomponent interventions have been successful in reducing caregiver distress, the impact of specific elements of these interventions on outcomes is not known. The article presents results of an analytic approach that allows researchers to describe the individual elements of multicomponent interventions and to examine the relationships between those components and outcomes. This approach is successfully applied to interventions being evaluated in the Resources for Enhancing Alzheimer's Caregiver Health (REACH) program. The results indicate that actively targeting caregiver behavior is effective in achieving positive outcomes with respect to caregiver depression.