Table 2 Data extraction

Dionne-Odom (2022), U.S. [36]

Promote and maintain mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency, and health information-seeking

Single-blinded, pilot RCT, IG (n = 31), CG (n = 32)

Caregivers

Age: Aged ≥ 18 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse/partner; Parent; Other relative; Friend/other

Cancer

Six weekly 20- to 60-min telehealth coaching sessions plus monthly follow-up for 24 weeks, reviewing skills in stress management, self-care, getting help, staying organized, and future planning

Total distress; anxiety; depression; quality of life

2 months

Bijker (2017), Netherlands [26]

Promote and maintain mental health

Self-management of health

Not blinded, pilot RCT, IG (n = 41), CG (n = 39)

Caregivers

Age: Aged ≥ 18 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Parent; Child; Sibling; Other relative; Spouse/partner; Friend; Colleague/classmate; Other

Depressed

Eight nonsequential modules based on psychoeducation and CBT techniques; themes concerned information about depression, suicidality, communication and setting boundaries in caregiving, stress, burnout, and self-care

Primary outcome: User-friendliness; secondary outcomes: psychological distress, anxiety, subjective burden, quality of life, mastery

After intervention

Leow (2015), Singapore [27]

Promote and maintain mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency, social and community support

Not blinded, pilot RCT, IG (n = 38), CG (n = 42)

Caregivers and patients

Age: Aged ≥ 21 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Child; Spouse; Sibling; Parent; Niece; Daughter-in-law; Grandchild

Cancer

Psychoeducational intervention, the Caring for the Caregiver Programme, consisting of a 1-h face-to-face session, a video clip, two follow-up phone calls, and an invitation to an online social support group

Primary outcome: quality of life; secondary outcome: social support, stress and depression, self-efficacy in self-care, closeness with the patient, rewards, and knowledge

1 month

Fuju (2021), Japan [28]

Promote and maintain mental health

Self-management of health

Not blinded, RCT, IG (n = 13), CG (n = 13)

Caregivers

Age: NA;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Husband; Wife; Birth father; Birth mother; Father‐in‐law; Mother‐in‐law

Dementia

Positive diary in which participants wrote down three positive things that happened during the day, with reasons why they chose them, and compliment themselves at the end of each day; content not limited to caregiving

Primary outcome: depression; secondary outcome: quality of life, caregiver burden, positive cognitive appraisal, positive feelings

After intervention

Behrndt (2019), Germany [29]

Promote and maintain mental health, cope with illness and disability, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency

Not blinded, RCT, IG (n = 205, dyadic), CG (n = 154, dyadic)

Caregivers

Age: NA;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse; son/daughter (in-law); other

Cognitive impairment

Intervention group received counseling in three phone calls focused on stress reduction, development of self-management strategies, and how to deal with challenging behaviors

Primary outcome: subjective burden and depressiveness; secondary outcome: positive aspects of caregiving, health-related quality of life

6 months

Boots (2018), Netherlands [37]

Promote and maintain mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency

Single-blinded, RCT, IG (n = 41), CG (n = 40)

Caregivers and patients

Age: Aged > 18 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse; other caregivers (e.g., children)

Dementia

8-week, blended care self-management Partner in Balance program, which combines face-to-face coaching with tailored web-based modules

Primary proximal outcome: self-efficacy; primary distal outcome: depression; secondary outcome: mastery, quality of life, and psychological complaints

After intervention

Terracciano (2020), U.S. [41]

Promote and maintain mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency, health information-seeking

Double-blinded, RCT, IG (n = 37), CG (n = 36)

Caregivers

Age: Aged ≥ 18 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse; child; others

Dementia

Psychoeducational intervention that helps caregivers enhance self-care practices and manage emotional distress

Depressive symptoms, self-efficacy, self-rated health, and life satisfaction

After intervention

Connell (2009), U.S. [30]

Promote and maintain physical and mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency

Not blinded, RCT, IG (n = 86), CG (n = 71)

Caregivers

Age: Aged ≥ 40 years;

Gender: Female;

Relationship with patients: Wife

Dementia

Intervention group received 14 telephone calls from trained behavior-change counselors for 6 months

Self-rated physical health, count of chronic conditions, physical functioning, objective caregiving burden, exercise behavior, exercise self-efficacy, self-efficacy for self-care, and depressive symptoms

6 months

Heckel (2018), Australia [38]

Promote and maintain physical and mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency, social and community support, and individual financial transactions for health

Single-blinded, RCT, IG (n = 108, dyadic), CG (n = 108, dyadic)

Caregivers and patients

Age: Aged ≥ 18 years

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse/partner; other (e.g. parent, adult child, friend)

Cancer

Three outcalls from a nurse addressing six topics: psychological distress, health literacy, physical health, family support, financial burden, and practical difficulties (e.g., legal affairs)

Primary outcome: self-reported caregiver burden; secondary outcome: depressive symptoms, unmet needs, self-esteem, self-empowerment, and health literacy

1 month

Belle (2006), U.S. [32]

Promote and maintain mental health, cope with illness and disability, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency, social and community support, and individual linkage to health system

Not blinded, RCT, IG (n = 323), CG (n = 319)

Caregivers and patients

Age: Aged ≥ 21 years

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse; child; sibling; other

Dementia

Twelve in-home and telephone sessions for 6 months

Primary outcome: quality of life; secondary outcomes: clinical depression and institutional placement of care recipient at 6 months

6 months

Nightingale (2022), U.S. [33]

Improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency, social and community support, and individual linkage to health system

Not blinded, pilot RCT, IG (n = 17), CG (n = 18)

Caregivers

Age: Aged ≥ 18 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse or partner; other family member; friend

Cancer

6- to 7-week supported self-management intervention offering psychoeducation and stress management skills building.

Feasibility, acceptability, and self-efficacy for caregiving (total score and subscales)

After intervention

Lewis (2019), U.S. [34]

Improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency, social and community support

Not blinded, RCT, IG (n = 159), CG (n = 163)

Caregivers and patients

Age: NA;

Gender: Male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse (husband)

Cancer

Spouses in the experimental group received five 30- to 60-min intervention sessions at 2-week intervals by master’s-level patient educators

Depressed mood, anxiety, cancer-related marital communication, interpersonal support, and self‐care

3 months

El-Jawahri (2020), U.S. [35]

Promote and maintain physical and mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency

Not blinded, RCT, IG (n = 45), CG (n = 47)

Caregivers

Age: Aged ≥ 18 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Married; child; parent; sibling; divorced

Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Caregivers in intervention group met with a trained interventionist in person, via telephone, or via videoconferencing for 6 sessions starting before transplantation and continuing for up to 60 days

Quality of life, caregiving burden, psychological distress, self-efficacy, and coping

2 months

Au (2020), Hong Kong [42]

Promote and maintain mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency, social and community support

Double-blinded, RCT, IG (n = 37), CG (n = 35)

Caregivers and patients

Age: Aged ≥ 18 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Adult child

Dementia

8-week intervention: Connecting Through Caregiving with intergenerational perspective-taking reappraisals

Primary outcome: life satisfaction; secondary outcomes: depressive symptoms, burden, perspective-taking reappraisals

2 months

Han (2020), Korea [39]

Promote and maintain mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency

Single-blinded, RCT, IG (n = 498), CG (n = 471)

Caregivers

Age: Aged ≥ 20 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse; son/daughter in law; other

Long-term care

Eight-week COMPASS program consisting of six individual in-home, three group support sessions, and two telephone sessions with a multicomponent intervention

Primary outcomes: depression, burden, and stress; secondary outcomes: self-efficacy, positive aspects of caregiving, social support, social activities, and health risk behaviors

2 months

Hou (2014), Hong Kong [40]

Promote and maintain mental health, improve individual capacity

Self-management of health, individual agency

Single-blinded, RCT, IG (n = 70), CG (n = 71)

Caregivers

Age: Aged ≥ 18 years;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients: Spouse; children; parents; relatives

Chronic conditions

Eight weekly 2-h sessions led by trained instructors; participants instructed to do CD-guided home practice for 30–45 min per day

Primary outcome: depressive symptoms; secondary outcome: anxiety symptoms, quality of life, self-efficacy, self-compassion, and mindfulness

After intervention

Elliott (2010), [31]

Promote and maintain mental health

Self-management of health, individual agency

Not blinded, RCT, IG (n = 257), CG (n = 238)

Caregiver

Age: NA;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients:

Spouse; nonspouse

Dementia

Nine in-home and three telephone sessions over 6 months in the intervention group. Two brief “check-in” telephone calls during this 6-month period in the control group.

Primary outcome: health status; Secondary outcomes: burden; bother

6 months

A’Campo (2010) [43]

Promote and maintain mental health

Self-management of health, individual agency, social and community support

Double-blinded, RCT, IG (n = 26 caregivers), CG (n = 20 caregivers)

Caregivers and patients

Age: NA;

Gender: Female and male;

Relationship with patients:

Partner; close relatives

Parkinson’s disease

Intervention group receive eight weekly standardized Patient Education Program Parkinson (PEPP). Control group receive usual neurological care

Psychosocial problems and need for help due to Parkinson’s disease; health-related quality of life (Hr-Qol); depression

After intervention