OBJECTIVE: Identify models of psychoeducational interventions and the effect of these interventions on caregivers of elderly with dementia. METHODS: Search of articles at PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Lilacs and SciELO from January 2000 to April 2012, using the following keywords "psychoeducational and caregiver", "caregiver and dementia and psychoeducational", "caregiver and intervention". We selected only articles that named the intervention studied as psychoeducation. RESULTS: We found 27 articles that showed the impact of psychoeducational intervention on caregivers of elderly with dementia. The results of these studies that were most prevalent: improved well-being of caregivers (37% of studies), increased use of coping strategies (30%), fewer dysfunctional thoughts (30%) increase knowledge about available services (19%), improved self-efficacy (15%) and increased skills for care (11%). The psychoeducational approach that was found in studies was about information, cognitive-behavioral techniques for managing stress and emotions, problem-solving techniques and emotional support. CONCLUSION: A psychoeducational intervention contributes significantly to improved well-being of the caregiver, however, it is necessary a consensus for the standardization of this approach in terms of structure, length and content covered, so there is more evidence of the precise effect of these intervention.
Caregivers; elderly; dementia; psychoeducation
