Effectiveness of a home-based, family caregiver–administered manual massage intervention in managing dementia symptoms and reducing caregiver stress: A randomized, controlled clinical trial

Abstract

ObjectivesTo investigate the effectiveness of family caregiver–administered home-based manual massages in managing dementia symptoms and reducing caregiver stress. MethodsThirty-eight pairs of participants—patients with dementia and their family caregivers—were randomly allocated to the experimental or the control group. The caregivers underwent 3-h-long massage training. Subsequently, the patients received a 30-min-long, home-based massage from their caregivers thrice a week for 8 consecutive weeks. The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD), Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI), and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) were assessed before and after the interventions. ResultsAfter intervention, the experimental group exhibited significant improvements in CSDD and CMAI scores compared with the scores of the control group (all p < .001). Furthermore, the experimental group obtained more favorable PSS scores than did the control group (p = .013). ConclusionsFamily caregiver–administered home-based massage therapy is recommended for managing dementia symptoms and reducing caregiver stress.