Telephone calls provide effective support for most caregivers of patients with dementia but not for all.

We designed an in-home caregiver psycho-intervention with monthly telephone calls to assess the improved disease-management effectiveness. Fifty-two outpatients (23 men, 29 women; 81 ± 1 years) of our dementia clinic, affected by Alzheimer's disease or related disorders were included. The inclusion criteria required an informal caregiver showing signs of distress. Thirty-two patients and their caregivers entered the intervention study (15 men and 17 women), whereas 20 (seven men and 13 women) entered as controls. A telephone call was planned monthly for 6 months, for the intervention group; a neuropsychologist and a trained geriatrician were available for questions, focusing on education-behavior problem-solving strategies and practical advices. This group was assessed after 6 and 12 months from study ending; the caregiver distress was reduced at 6 months, lasting up to 12 months. 18 persons showed a positive answer whereas 14 were nonresponders. This psycho-intervention strategy showed its effectiveness (up to 12 months) addressing as pivotal the presence of reliable institutional support whose regular contact improved caregivers' knowledge about disease management.