Poster 43Acquired Brain Injury Caregiver Interventions: A Critical Appraisal of the Quality of Evidence

Objectives: To compile research studies in brain injury and related fields addressing interventions to support acquired brain injury caregivers and to assess critically the evidence from selected studies. Data Sources: Medline, PsychInfo, CINAHL, Cochrane, and EMBASE were searched in the fields of brain injury, stroke, mental health, dementia, and chronic childhood illnesses. Study Selection: Criteria for review were: any year for brain injury articles but only articles from 2000 and later for the other fields; study involved an intervention specifically for caregivers; and article was either a review of only randomized controlled trials (RCTs) or a single RCT. Data Extraction: Not applicable due to lack of comparability among studies, faulty methodologies, missing intervention descriptions, and/or lack of standardized measures. Data Synthesis: 35 articles were reviewed using a template addressing study design, methodology, statistically significant findings, and author- and reviewer-generated conclusions. Templates were reviewed for demonstrated effectiveness of different caregiver interventions. Conclusions: Almost 50% of the articles evaluated educational interventions, specifically within the field of dementia. The evidence in brain injury is weak and in early stages of development. The evidence from the other reviewed areas unexpectedly had similar methodologic weaknesses. Multicomponent interventions (eg, education, peer support, counseling) show promising results; technology (telerehabilitation, Internet) can be effective to provide individualized and accessible service.