Telephone-Coached Sleep Bibliotherapy for Dementia Caregivers

This study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of telephone-coached sleep bibliotherapy for informal caregivers of people with dementia.

A total of 120 eligible caregivers will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group will receive an 8-week telephone-coached sleep bibliotherapy program.

The control group will receive an educational booklet containing general health information and weekly check-in calls. Both groups will continue receiving usual community services.

Data will be collected at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3 months after the intervention. The primary outcome is sleep quality measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Secondary outcomes include caregiving appraisal, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, emotional distress, neuropsyatric symptoms of care recipients, and quality of life.

The findings will provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of a low-cost and easily disseminated intervention for improving sleep and well-being among caregivers of people with dementia.

Inclusion criteria

a) aged 18 years or older; b) provide unpaid care to a family member with dementia; c) living with the patient or actively involved in the patient's care daily for a minimum of 4 hours/day for at least 6 months; d) endorse one or more sleep problems; e) having the sleep problem with an average of 3 or more nights per week during the past month; d) taking no medication for sleep or stabilized on current medication for at least 6 weeks; e) could be contacted by phone.

Exclusion criteria

a) report a prior diagnosis of primary sleep disorder (e.g., sleep apnoea); b) have a severe chronic illness that could cause their sleep problems (e.g., emphysema); c) receive medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment for sleep disturbance or depression; d) have cognitive impairment; e) be included in another interventional study.