title: A brief problem-solving indicated-prevention intervention for prevention of depression in nonprofessional caregivers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Despite depression being a common problem among nonprofessional caregivers, no studies of prevention of depression targeting this population exist in the literature. The studies of indicated prevention of depression aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of a problem-solving intervention in preventing clinical depression in a sample of female caregivers.
  
  
  METHODS
  A controlled randomized trial was conducted among 173 participants (mean age 53.9 years), 89 of whom were randomized to the intervention group and 84 (controls) to usual care. The intervention comprised five weekly 90-minute group sessions.
  
  
  RESULTS
  At post-treatment, depression symptoms in the intervention group had remitted significantly more than in the control group, with a large effect size ( d = 1.54). The proportion of participants showing clinically significant improvement was significantly larger in the intervention group (80.9% vs. 11.9% among controls), and fewer intervention-group participants had progressed to clinical depression during the study period (4.5% vs. 13.1% among controls). The intervention group also exhibited a significantly greater reduction in emotional distress and caregiver burden than the control group.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings attest to the short-term efficacy of the intervention.
authors: Universidad de Santiago de Compostela, Spain. fernandolino.vazquez@usc.es
authors: Fernando L
authors: FL
authors: Vázquez González
authors: Patricia
authors: P
authors: Otero Otero
authors: Angela
authors: A
authors: Torres Iglesias
authors: Elisabet
authors: E
authors: Hermida García
authors: Vanessa
authors: V
authors: Blanco Seoane
authors: Olga
authors: O
authors: Díaz Fernández
mesh_terms: D017028:Caregivers / Q000523:psychology*; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011340:Problem Solving; D016037:Single-Blind Method