{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T05:19:06Z","timestamp":1787548746990,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":35,"publisher":"Frontiers Media SA","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1787529600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["frontiersin.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Front. Neurol."],"abstract":"\n Purpose<\/jats:title>\n To evaluate the association between an 8-week group Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) program and changes in professional dementia caregiver burden, perceived stress, and patient neuropsychiatric symptoms.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Methods<\/jats:title>\n \n This retrospective multi-method study included 94 professional dementia caregivers at a psychiatric hospital in China (intervention:\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f48; control:\n n<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f46). The intervention group participated in an 8-week group MBCT program, while the control group received routine education. Caregiver burden (Neuropsychiatric Inventory Caregiver Distress Scale [NPI-D]), perceived stress (Perceived Stress Scale-10 [PSS-10]), and patient symptoms (Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale [BPRS], Behavioral Pathology in Alzheimer\u2019s Disease Rating Scale [BEHAVE-AD], Neuropsychiatric Inventory [NPI]) were assessed at baseline and five follow-up points over 20\u202fweeks. Semi-structured interviews with 18 intervention participants explored perceived intervention mechanisms. Quantitative data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA; qualitative data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Results<\/jats:title>\n \n The intervention group demonstrated significantly greater reductions in caregiver burden (NPI-D: from 32.15\u202f\u00b1\u202f8.53 to 19.90\u202f\u00b1\u202f5.71) and perceived stress (PSS-10: from 23.83\u202f\u00b1\u202f4.23 to 16.82\u202f\u00b1\u202f3.94) compared to the control group from week 8 through week 20 (all\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001). Significant group \u00d7 time interactions were observed for BPRS (\n F<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f2.682,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.021), BEHAVE-AD (\n F<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f2.747,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.018), and NPI severity (\n F<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f2.353,\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.040), with patient improvements emerging at week 12, independent of antipsychotic medication adjustments. Correlation analysis revealed positive associations between caregiver burden reduction and patient symptom improvement (\n r<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f=\u202f0.36\u20130.44, all\n p<\/jats:italic>\n \u202f&lt;\u202f0.001). Qualitative findings identified five themes: development of mindful awareness, cognitive reappraisal of patient behaviors, cultivation of self-compassion, value of group support, and barriers and facilitators to sustained practice.\n <\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>\n \n Conclusion<\/jats:title>\n The 8-week group MBCT program was associated with sustained reductions in caregiver burden and perceived stress, accompanied by improvements in patient neuropsychiatric symptoms among professional dementia caregivers. The group format provided additional perceived benefits through peer support and experience normalization. These findings support further investigation of group-based mindfulness interventions within professional dementia care settings using randomized controlled designs.<\/jats:p>\n <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.3389\/fneur.2026.1880966","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]],"date-time":"2026-08-24T04:24:23Z","timestamp":1787545463000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3389\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Group mindfulness-based cognitive therapy associated with reduced professional caregiver burden and improved quality of care in dementia: a multi-method study"],"prefix":"10.3389","volume":"17","author":[{"given":"Longyun","family":"Chen","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Affiliated Mental Health Center of East China Normal University","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Bencheng","family":"Wang","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Yangsi Hospital","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Ting","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Affiliated Mental Health Center of East China Normal University","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Nan","family":"Li","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Affiliated Mental Health Center of East China Normal University","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Xuanxuan","family":"Chen","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Shanghai Changning Mental Health Center, Affiliated Mental Health Center of East China Normal University","place":["Shanghai, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Fei","family":"Liu","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The Affiliated Mental Health Center of Kunming Medical University, Yunnan Mental Hospital","place":["Kunming, Yunnan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tao","family":"Lv","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"The People\u2019s Hospital of Deyang","place":["Deyang, Sichuan, China"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1965","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,24]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"152","DOI":"10.1007\/s13311-021-01152-0","article-title":"Genomics and functional genomics of Alzheimer's disease","volume":"19","author":"Kamboh","year":"2022","journal-title":"Neurotherapeutics"},{"key":"ref2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"e13915","DOI":"10.1111\/hex.13915","article-title":"Person-centred caregiver singing for people living with dementia in South Africa: a mixed methods evaluation of acceptability, feasibility, and professional caregivers' experiences","volume":"27","author":"Stuart-R\u00f6hm","year":"2024","journal-title":"Health Expect"},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1479","DOI":"10.1177\/1471301217714654","article-title":"Behavioural changes in dementia and their impact on professional caregivers: a grounded theory approach","volume":"18","author":"Appleton","year":"2019","journal-title":"Dementia"},{"key":"ref4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"525","DOI":"10.1186\/s12877-023-04234-0","article-title":"Burden in caregivers of primary care patients with dementia: influence of neuropsychiatric symptoms according to disease stage (NeDEM project)","volume":"23","author":"Garc\u00eda-Mart\u00edn","year":"2023","journal-title":"BMC Geriatr"},{"key":"ref5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"215","DOI":"10.12788\/jfp.0606","article-title":"Caring for the caregiver in dementia","volume":"72","author":"Young","year":"2023","journal-title":"J Fam Pract"},{"key":"ref6","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"655","DOI":"10.2147\/JMDH.S209106","article-title":"Burden of caring for people with dementia \u2013 comparing family caregivers and professional caregivers. 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