EFFECTIVENESS OF A DYADIC CHAIR YOGA INTERVENTION FOR REDUCING STRESS IN PATIENTS WITH DEMENTIA AND THEIR CAREGIVERS

Abstract

Introduction Dementia is associated with stress, anxiety, and depression in both patients and caregivers. Yoga may be a viable therapeutic modality to address these challenges, as it has been shown to decrease stress and improve anxiety and depressive symptoms in various populations. While there is preliminary data on dyadic exercise interventions for dementia patients and their caregivers, to date no research has examined the effectiveness of a dyadic yoga intervention. Methods We propose an 8-week single arm pilot trial of a dyadic chair yoga intervention for patients and their caregivers (n = 30-40). The primary outcome is perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)), while secondary outcomes include symptoms of depression (Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ9)) and anxiety (Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-Item Scale (GAD7)). Exploratory outcomes include caregiver burden (Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI)), quality of interactions (Dyadic Relationship Scale (DRS)), well-being (12-Item Well-Being Questionnaire (W-BQ12)), mindfulness (Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ)), and self-compassion (Short Form of the Self-Compassion Scale (SCS-SF)). Results The protocol of this study will be presented at AAGP 2020 in San Antonio, Texas. Results will be ready by mid-2020. Conclusions We anticipate that this novel dyadic chair yoga intervention will improve stress, as well as depression, anxiety, and other outcomes, in dementia patients and their caregivers. If successful, this study provides crucial pilot data for a larger definitive randomized controlled trial. Future studies can also assess whether this intervention may improve direct and indirect health-care costs. This research was funded by: This low-cost pilot study has received no outside funding.