Effectiveness of a Novel Multimodal Intervention for Family Caregivers of Persons With Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Purpose Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of visual impairment in older adults. Individuals affected by AMD often require regular physical and emotional support from family caregivers. Carers of people with AMD endure significant physical burdens, emotional distress, increased financial stress, and disruptions due to their lifestyle and retirement plans as a direct consequence of the AMD caregiving experience. Despite this, there are currently no interventions targeted toward family caregivers of AMD patients. We evaluated the efficacy of a novel intervention aiming to improve the burden and well-being of family carers of persons with AMD. Methods Family carers of relatives with AMD were primarily recruited through private eye clinics and randomized 1:1 to either receive a 10-week intervention of mail-delivered cognitive behavioral therapy (M-CBT) and optional telephone-delivered group counseling (n = 47) or to a wait-list control group (n = 47). Outcome measures were assessed pre-intervention (baseline) and six months post-intervention. These included treatment acceptability, caregiver burden, presence of depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, quality of life (QoL), and fatigue. Results A total of 94 participants were enrolled, with 47 randomized to each arm. Of those who completed the intervention, 30 (97%) participants reported that they were satisfied/very satisfied with the intervention. Twenty-seven (87%) participants indicated that they would recommend the program to others, and 26 (84%) thought that the program was worth their time. Intervention participants demonstrated several positive nonsignificant improvements versus the control group at six months: burden (P= 0.53), depressive symptoms (P= 0.19), general self-efficacy (P= 0.14), QoL (P= 0.17) and fatigue (P= 0.15). Conclusions Study findings demonstrate that combined M-CBT and telephone counseling intervention appear to be feasible, but did not lead to nonsignificant improvements in outcome measures such as burden in family carers of persons with AMD.