Effects of Dyadic Psychosocial Education on People Living with Cognitive Impairment and Their Informal Caregivers: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

Objective: Cognitive impairment places a substantial burden on both patients and caregivers. Dyadic psychosocial education may be a potential solution, but its effects have not been systematically evaluated. This study aimed to evaluate the effects of dyadic psychosocial education on outcomes and dyadic relationships among cognitively impaired adults and their informal caregivers.

Methods: Systematic review and meta-analysis. Methods: People living with cognitive impairment and their informal caregivers. Methods: Six electronic databases were systematically searched from January 1, 2004, to October 13, 2024. Two researchers independently screened the literature by title, abstract, and full text. The revised Cochrane risk-of-bias tool for randomized trials was used to assess the risk of bias for included studies. A meta-analysis was performed using a random effects model, followed by subgroup and sensitivity analyses.

Results: Sixteen studies representing 2446 dyads were identified. No effects were found on overall neuropsychiatric symptoms, agitation, apathy, or depression, nor caregiver quality of life and depression. Pooled results showed dyadic psychosocial education significantly reduced dyadic conflict (SMD = -0.42, 95% CI: -0.66 to -0.18, I2 = 0). No significant effects of dyadic psychosocial education were found on overall cognitive function (SMD = 0.12, 95% CI: -0.13 to 0.38, I2 = 69%) or caregiver burden (SMD = -0.20, 95% CI: -0.43 to 0.03, I2 = 56%). However, subgroup analyses indicated that interventions ≤6 months improved overall cognitive function (SMD = 0.30, 95% CI: 0.06-0.54, I2 = 19%) and reduced caregiver burden (SMD = -0.26, 95% CI: -0.51 to -0.01, I2 = 32%).

Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that dyadic psychosocial education can reduce dyadic conflict. The intervention also benefited cognitive function and caregiver burden, but the intervention duration influenced the effectiveness. Given the instability of the results, the findings of this study need to be interpreted with caution.