Effectiveness of psychosocial interventions addressing informal caregivers' mental health: an umbrella systematic review with 26,481 participants.
Beatrice Bano, Doriana Cristofalo, Eleonora Prina et al.
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In 30 seconds
This umbrella systematic review and random-effects meta-analysis assessed psychosocial interventions for the mental health of informal caregivers, grouped by care recipients’ clinical conditions. It included 19 systematic reviews and 50 meta-analyses, covering 26,481 participants. Several intervention types were associated with improved caregiver outcomes across conditions. For example, multicomponent interventions reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms in parents of children with cancer (SMD = -0.38, 95% CI -0.64 to -0.12; SMD = -0.89, 95% CI -1.33 to -0.45). Overall certainty was low to moderate and associations were weak.
Key findings
- For dementia caregivers, multicomponent interventions significantly reduced depressive and anxiety symptoms and caregiver burden (SMD from -0.65 to -0.19).
- For lung cancer caregivers, psychoeducation and psychological support reduced depressive symptoms (SMD = -1.66, 95% CI -3.19 to -0.13) and anxiety symptoms (SMD = -1.37, 95% CI -2.54 to -0.21).
- For parents of children with cancer, multicomponent interventions reduced depressive symptoms (SMD = -0.38, 95% CI -0.64 to -0.12) and anxiety symptoms (SMD = -0.89, 95% CI -1.33 to -0.45).
- Psychoeducation and skills-training reduced caregiver burden for caregivers of people with psychosis and schizophrenia (SMD = -2.10, 95% CI -3.46 to -0.74; SMD = -0.94, 95% CI -1.72 to -0.17).
Why it matters
Informal caregivers may experience psychological symptoms and burden across a range of care contexts. This review synthesises evidence by recipient condition and intervention type, offering a broad view of where psychosocial approaches may help. However, the low-to-moderate certainty and overall weak strength of associations mean the findings should be interpreted cautiously rather than as definitive evidence of benefit.
What to keep in mind
The review reports low-to-moderate certainty and overall weak associations, and highlights the need for further high-quality research.