[ENG]Aim: This study assesses the effect of an intervention to reduce the disruptive behaviours
(DB) presented by care recipient users of adult day care centres (ADCC),
thereby reducing caregiver overload. While ADCC offer beneficial respite for family
caregivers, the DB that many care recipients show promote resistance to attending
these centres, which can be a great burden on their family caregivers.
Design: Randomized controlled clinical trial.
Methods: The study was carried out with 130 family caregivers of people attending
seven ADCC in the municipality of Salamanca (Spain), randomly distributed into intervention
and control groups. The intervention was applied across eight sessions, one
per week, in groups of 8–10 people where caregivers were trained in the Antecedent-
Behavior-Consequence (ABC) model of functional behaviour analysis. The primary
outcome was the reduction of DB measured with the Revised Memory and Behavior
Problems Checklist (RMBPC).
Results: An average reduction in the RMBPC of 4.34 points was obtained in the intervention
group after applying the intervention (p < 0.01 (U de Mann–Whitney); Cohen
d = 1.00); furthermore, differences were found in the Center for Epidemiologic
Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) (U = −2.67; p = 0.008; Cohen d = 0.50) and in the
Short Zarit Burden Interview (Short ZBI) (t = −4.10; p < 0.01; Cohen d = 0.98).
Conclusion: The results obtained suggest that the implementation of this intervention
could reduce both the frequency of DB occurrence and the reaction of the caregiver
to their appearance. Improvement was also noted in the results regarding overload
and emotional state of the family caregiver.
Impact: To our knowledge, this is the first randomized clinical trial to show that an
intervention based on the ABC model could reduce the frequency and reaction of DB
of care recipients in ADCC increasing their quality of life, and improving the mental
health and overload of their family caregivers.
