L'apport de la relaxation à un programme d'intervention psychoéducatif destiné aux aidants familiaux de personnes atteintes de maladie d'Alzheimer Contribution of relaxation to a psychoeducational intervention program for family carers of persons with Alzheimer's disease

Family caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease are at high risk of psycho- logical and physical morbidity due to the daily caring experience. Objectives: to evaluate the impact of a psychoeducational program involving relaxation techniques on caregivers' burden and mental health status. Methods: in this prospective study, 50 family caregi- vers were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: standard (CG: Control group; 12 × 90 minutes weekly sessions: psychoeducational group intervention) and experimen- tal intervention (RG: Relaxation group; 12 × 150 minutes sessions: standard intervention + relaxation techniques). Caregivers' burden and mental health status were assessed using the Zarit burden interview (global score and three dimensions from the factor analysis of the French version: social consequences, psychological burden and feelings of guilt) and the General health questionnaire-28 at baseline, after 3 (M3) and 6-months follow-up. Inter-individual statistics and intra-individual changes were calculated. Results: social conse- quences and psychological burden decreased in RG. The between-group analysis showed that social consequences scores at M3 improved more in RG than in CG. No change in men- tal health was observed. For burden and anxiety/insomnia, intra-individual analyses showed that RG intervention was beneficial for more carers than CG intervention. Discussion: this study suggests that integrating relaxation techniques into psychoeducational interventions is beneficial for caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease.