title: Befriending carers of people with dementia: randomised controlled trial.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effectiveness of a voluntary sector based befriending scheme in improving psychological wellbeing and quality of life for family carers of people with dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Single blind randomised controlled trial.
  
  
  METHODS
  Community settings in East Anglia and London.
  
  
  METHODS
  236 family carers of people with primary progressive dementia.
  
  
  METHODS
  Contact with a befriender facilitator and offer of match with a trained lay volunteer befriender compared with no befriender facilitator contact; all participants continued to receive "usual care."
  
  
  METHODS
  Carers' mood (hospital anxiety and depression scale-depression) and health related quality of life (EuroQoL) at 15 months post-randomisation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The intention to treat analysis showed no benefit for the intervention "access to a befriender facilitator" on the primary outcome measure or on any of the secondary outcome measures.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  In common with many carers' services, befriending schemes are not taken up by all carers, and providing access to a befriending scheme is not effective in improving wellbeing. Trial registration Current CONTROLLED TRIALS: ISRCTN08130075.
authors.affiliation: Centre for Behavioural and Social Sciences in Medicine, University College London, London W1W 7EJ. g.charlesworth@ucl.ac.uk
authors.forename: Georgina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Charlesworth
authors.forename: Lee
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Shepstone
authors.forename: Edward
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Shirley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Reynolds
authors.forename: Miranda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Mugford
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Price
authors.forename: Ian
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Harvey
authors.forename: Fiona
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poland
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003704:Dementia / Q000451:nursing* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D033062:Friends; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011788:Quality of Life; D012944:Social Support