Telephone-Coached Sleep Bibliotherapy for Dementia Caregivers

Sleep disturbances are common among informal caregivers of people with dementia and can negatively affect their physical and psychological well-being. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week telephone-coached sleep bibliotherapy program in improving sleep quality among informal caregivers of people with dementia. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a sleep bibliotherapy intervention group or an educational booklet control group. Outcomes including sleep quality, caregiving appraisal, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, emotional distress, neuropsychiatric symptoms of care recipients, and quality of life will be assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention.

Inclusion criteria: a) aged 18 years or older; b) provide unpaid care to a family member with dementia; c) living with the patient or actively involved in the patient's care daily for a minimum of 4 hours/day for at least 6 months; d) endorse one or more sleep problems; e) having the sleep problem with an average of 3 or more nights per week during the past month; d) taking no medication for sleep or stabilized on current medication for at least 6 weeks; e) could be contacted by phone. Exclusion criteria: a) report a prior diagnosis of primary sleep disorder (e.g., sleep apnoea); b) have a severe chronic illness that could cause their sleep problems (e.g., emphysema); c) receive medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment for sleep disturbance or depression; d) have cognitive impairment; e) be included in another interventional study.