Effectiveness of the Mindfulness-Based Interventions for Caregivers of Patients with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate and summarize the literature on the effectiveness of mindfulness-based interventions for informal caregivers of the patients with ALS. Methods: A scoping review was conducted using electronic databases such as EBSCO, Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science. Total of 475 studies were identified by searching through databases and other sources. After screening the titles and abstracts, 19 studies remained for full text review. Questions such as ‘What is the effect of awareness based interventions on caregiver burden for caregivers of ALS patients?’ were sought to be answered. The PRISMA flowchart was adhered to throughout the process. Results: 6 studies were included in this scoping review; one RCT, two pre-post design studies, one qualitative study and two cohort study. The fact that studies on Mindfulness-Based Interventions for caregivers of patients with ALS have only been available since 2016, and the number of them is small, and demonstrates the lack and novelty of trials on this topic. The findings of this scoping review suggest that mindfulness-based interventions can significantly alleviate caregiver burden, enhance quality of life, and improve psychological well-being, including reductions in anxiety and depression, among caregivers of patients with ALS. Conclusion: Despite the limited number of studies, the evidence supports the potential effectiveness of mindfulness-based approaches as a valuable support strategy for this population. It is believed that further research is required on this topic.

Keywords

• Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
• Motor Neuron Disease
• Caregiver Burden
• Mindfulness

Amyotrofik Lateral Skleroz Hastalarının Bakım Verenlerine Yönelik Farkındalık Temelli Müdahalelerin Etkinliği: Kapsam Derlemesi

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışmanın amacı, ALS hastalarının bakım verenlerine yönelik farkındalık temelli müdahalelerin etkinliğine ilişkin literatürü değerlendirmek ve özetlemektir. Yöntemler: EBSCO, Scopus, PubMed ve Web of Science gibi elektronik veri tabanları kullanılarak literatür taraması gerçekleştirildi. Toplam 475 çalışmaya erişildi. Başlıklar ve özetler incelendikten sonra tam metin incelemesi için 19 çalışma dahil edildi. “ALS hastalarının bakım verenleri için farkındalık temelli müdahalelerin bakım veren yükü üzerindeki etkisi nedir?” gibi sorulara yanıt arandı. PRISMA akış şemasına uygun hareket edildi. Bulgular: Bu kapsam derlemesine bir tane randomize kontrollü, iki tane ön test-son test tasarımlı, bir tane nitel, iki tane kohort çalışma olmak üzere 6 çalışma dahil edildi. ALS hastalarının bakım verenlerine yönelik farkındalık temelli müdahaleler üzerine yapılan çalışmaların 2016'dan beri devam etmesi, bu konunun güncelliğini koruduğunu gösterirken, çalışmaların sayısının yetersizliği de alandaki araştırma eksikliğini vurgulamaktadır. Araştırmalar, farkındalık temelli müdahalelerin ALS hastalarının bakım verenlerinin bakım yükü, anksiyete ve depresyon düzeylerini azaltma, yaşam kalitesi düzeyini artırma, psikolojik refahı iyileştirme potansiyelini vurguladığı görülmektedir. Sonuç: Sınırlı sayıda çalışmaya rağmen, kanıtlar farkındalık temelli yaklaşımların bu popülasyon için değerli bir müdahale olarak potansiyel etkinliğini desteklemektedir. Konuyla ilgili daha fazla çalışmaya ihtiyaç olduğu düşünülmektedir.

Keywords

• Amyotrofik lateral skleroz
• motor nöron hastalığı
• bakıcı yükü
• farkındalık

Supporting Institution

No funding.

Ethical Statement

A scoping review not involves human subjects, human material, human tissues, or human data. Therefore, the approval of an ethics committee was not necessary.

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