Evaluation of a Photo Captioning Cognitive Empathy Intervention for Dementia Caregivers.

Objectives: The goal of this study was to develop and evaluate an intervention aimed at increasing cognitive empathy, improving mental health, and reducing inflammation in dementia caregivers, and to examine the relevant neural and psychological mechanisms.

Methods: Twenty dementia caregivers completed an intervention that involved taking 3-5 daily photographs of their person living with dementia (PLWD) over a period of 10 days and captioning those photos with descriptive text capturing the inner voice of the PLWD. Both before and after the intervention, participants completed questionnaires, provided a blood sample for measures of inflammation, and completed a neuroimaging session to measure their neural response to viewing photographs of their PLWD and others.

Results: 87% of enrolled caregivers completed the intervention. Caregivers experienced pre- to post-intervention increases in cognitive empathy (i.e. Perspective-Taking) and decreases in both burden and anxiety. These changes were paralleled by an increased neural response to photographs of their PLWD within brain regions implicated in cognitive empathy.

Conclusion: These findings warrant a larger replication study that includes a control condition and follows participants to establish the duration of the intervention effects.

Clinical implications: Cognitive empathy interventions may improve caregiver mental health and are worthy of further investigation.