# Feasibility randomized controlled trial of a home-based support program for family caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease

## TL;DR

A home-based support program for Alzheimer's caregivers was found to be feasible and improved their knowledge and mental health.

## Contribution

A novel home-based care program for Alzheimer's caregivers was developed and shown to improve knowledge and mental health outcomes.

## Key findings

- The home-based program improved AD knowledge and reduced anxiety in caregivers.
- Psychological quality of life scores improved significantly in the intervention group.
- The program was feasible and showed promise for larger-scale trials.

## Abstract

This study aimed to develop and preliminarily evaluate the feasibility of a home-based care program for family caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer’s disease (AD).

We developed a home-based intervention for AD caregivers through systematic literature review and two-round Delphi consensus (18 experts; authority coefficients 0.88–0.91). This feasibility randomized controlled trial enrolled 61 primary caregivers and assigned them to either an experimental group (n=31) receiving a structured, evidence-based, 3-month home-care protocol, or a control group (n=30) receiving conventional nursing guidance.

The Delphi process achieved strong expert consensus. Post-intervention, caregivers in the intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in AD knowledge scores, anxiety reduction, and psychological domain QOL-AD scores compared to baseline (P < 0.05). While total QOL-AD scores increased in the intervention group, between-group differences were not statistically significant.

The home-based care program proved feasible and effective in enhancing AD caregiver knowledge and mental health outcomes. These promising findings support the need for larger-scale efficacy trials to further validate clinical utility.