Changes in Caregiver Burden, Psychological Distress, and Depressive Symptoms Following a Physician-Led Standardized Counseling and Education Program for Caregivers of Patients With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Multicenter Pre-Post Study.
25 affiliations
- 1Department of Neurology, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 2Department of Neurology, Ewha Womans University Mokdong Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- 3Department of Neurology, Inha University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
- 4Department of Neurology, Yongin Severance Hospital, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Yongin, Korea.
- 5Department of Neurology, Uijeongbu St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Uijeongbu, Korea.
- 6Department of Neurology, Dongsuwon General Hospital, Suwon, Korea.
- 7Department of Neurology, Konkuk University Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
- 8Department of Neurology, Ewha Womans University Seoul Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- 9Department of Neurology, Pusan National University Hospital, Pusan National University School of Medicine and Medical Research Institute, Busan, Korea.
- 10Department of Neurology, College of Medicine, Hanyang University, Seoul, Korea.
- 11Department of Neurology, Jeonbuk National University Medical School and Hospital, Jeonju, Korea.
- 12Department of Neurology, International St. Mary's Hospital, Catholic Kwandong University College of Medicine, Incheon, Korea.
- 13Department of Neurology, Heavenly Hospital, Goyang, Korea.
- 14Department of Neurology, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
- 15National Institute of Dementia, National Medical Center, Seoul, Korea.
- 16Department of Neurology, Ajou University School of Medicine, Suwon, Korea.
- 17Department of Neurology, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
- 18Bobath Memorial Hospital, Seongnam, Korea.
- 19Department of Neurology, Incheon St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Incheon, Korea.
- 20Department of Neurology, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
- 21Department of Neurology, Gachon University Gil Medical Center, College of Medicine, Gachon University, Incheon, Korea.
- 22Department of Neurology, Korea University Anam Hospital, Seoul, Korea.
- 23Department of Neurology, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea.
- 24Department of Neurology, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Seoul, Korea.
- 25Department of Neurology, Daejeon Eulji Medical Center, Eulji University, Daejeon, Korea.
Abstract
Background and purpose
Family caregivers of people with dementia carry psychological burden, yet brief physician-delivered caregiver counseling within routine hospital care is neither standardized nor routinely reimbursed in Korea. We evaluated changes in caregiver distress, burden, and depressive symptoms after a structured, hospital-based counseling and education program delivered by physicians.Methods
This secondary analysis used data from a Korean Dementia Association multicenter pilot project at 25 hospitals. Primary caregivers of patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia completed a 6-item distress checklist, the 4-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and the 15-item Short-Form Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDepS) before and within 7 days after a single session (45 minutes). Pre-post changes were tested with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests; baseline-adjusted and multivariable regression models explored characteristics associated with change.Results
Of 210 caregivers, 202 completed both assessments (mean age 59.7 years; 70.3% female; 54.5% spouses). Mean scores decreased from 1.916 to 1.535 for distress, 6.114 to 5.104 for ZBI, and 4.406 to 3.604 for SGDepS (all p<0.001), with reductions in 31.2%, 51.0%, and 44.6% of caregivers, respectively. No patient or caregiver characteristic was associated with the magnitude of change after baseline adjustment. Satisfaction was high (4.3±0.8 of 5) and weakly correlated with greater reductions in distress (ρ=-0.17) and burden (ρ=-0.16).Conclusions
A brief, physician-led caregiver counseling program using standardized materials with tailored module selection, integrated into hospital dementia care was followed by short-term reductions in caregiver distress, burden, and depressive symptoms with high acceptability, supporting controlled evaluation and policy consideration of its reimbursement.
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BibTeX
@article{ha2026changes,
title = {{Changes in Caregiver Burden, Psychological Distress, and Depressive Symptoms Following a Physician-Led Standardized Counseling and Education Program for Caregivers of Patients With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Multicenter Pre-Post Study.}},
author = {Hee-Jung Ha and Geon Ha Kim and Seong Hye Choi and Min Young Chun and Yun Jeong Hong and Jihye Hwang and Jae-Won Jang and Da Won Jeong and Eun-Joo Kim and Hee-Jin Kim and Ko Woon Kim and Yeshin Kim and Bon D Ku and Eun Ah Lee and Eun Hye Lee and Sun Min Lee and So Young Moon and Yeonsil Moon and Ye Sol Mun and Duk L Na and Haeri Na and Seunghee Na and Jinse Park and Kee Hyung Park and Kun-Woo Park and YongSoo Shim and Dong Won Yang and Jiyoung Yeom and Rayoung Yoo and Bora Yoon and Soo Jin Yoon and Jee Hyang Jeong},
journal = {Dementia and neurocognitive disorders},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.12779/dnd.2026.25.4.210},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/43011264},
note = {CC BY-NC},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Changes in Caregiver Burden, Psychological Distress, and Depressive Symptoms Following a Physician-Led Standardized Counseling and Education Program for Caregivers of Patients With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Multicenter Pre-Post Study.
AU - Hee-Jung Ha
AU - Geon Ha Kim
AU - Seong Hye Choi
AU - Min Young Chun
AU - Yun Jeong Hong
AU - Jihye Hwang
AU - Jae-Won Jang
AU - Da Won Jeong
AU - Eun-Joo Kim
AU - Hee-Jin Kim
AU - Ko Woon Kim
AU - Yeshin Kim
AU - Bon D Ku
AU - Eun Ah Lee
AU - Eun Hye Lee
AU - Sun Min Lee
AU - So Young Moon
AU - Yeonsil Moon
AU - Ye Sol Mun
AU - Duk L Na
AU - Haeri Na
AU - Seunghee Na
AU - Jinse Park
AU - Kee Hyung Park
AU - Kun-Woo Park
AU - YongSoo Shim
AU - Dong Won Yang
AU - Jiyoung Yeom
AU - Rayoung Yoo
AU - Bora Yoon
AU - Soo Jin Yoon
AU - Jee Hyang Jeong
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/26
JO - Dementia and neurocognitive disorders
DO - 10.12779/dnd.2026.25.4.210
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/43011264
AB - Background and purpose Family caregivers of people with dementia carry psychological burden, yet brief physician-delivered caregiver counseling within routine hospital care is neither standardized nor routinely reimbursed in Korea. We evaluated changes in caregiver distress, burden, and depressive symptoms after a structured, hospital-based counseling and education program delivered by physicians.Methods This secondary analysis used data from a Korean Dementia Association multicenter pilot project at 25 hospitals. Primary caregivers of patients with mild cognitive impairment or dementia completed a 6-item distress checklist, the 4-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI), and the 15-item Short-Form Geriatric Depression Scale (SGDepS) before and within 7 days after a single session (45 minutes). Pre-post changes were tested with Wilcoxon signed-rank tests; baseline-adjusted and multivariable regression models explored characteristics associated with change.Results Of 210 caregivers, 202 completed both assessments (mean age 59.7 years; 70.3% female; 54.5% spouses). Mean scores decreased from 1.916 to 1.535 for distress, 6.114 to 5.104 for ZBI, and 4.406 to 3.604 for SGDepS (all p<0.001), with reductions in 31.2%, 51.0%, and 44.6% of caregivers, respectively. No patient or caregiver characteristic was associated with the magnitude of change after baseline adjustment. Satisfaction was high (4.3±0.8 of 5) and weakly correlated with greater reductions in distress (ρ=-0.17) and burden (ρ=-0.16).Conclusions A brief, physician-led caregiver counseling program using standardized materials with tailored module selection, integrated into hospital dementia care was followed by short-term reductions in caregiver distress, burden, and depressive symptoms with high acceptability, supporting controlled evaluation and policy consideration of its reimbursement.
SN - 1738-1495
SN - 2384-0757
ER -