Leveraging Informal Caregiving Skills to Reach Rural Contexts: Results from Continued Pilot Testing of the Friends and Family for Mental Health Program.

Psychological treatment is a pressing unmet need, especially in rural areas. One potential means of addressing this need is to enhance informal care, a form of care frequently relied on by rural adults with psychological symptoms. In this study, 150 participants were randomized to either a group based psychological intervention or a waitlist control condition. Primary analyses evaluated potential condition differences in informal care skills, coping skills, and mental health symptoms. Intervention participants experienced greater informal caregiving skill gains following the program, though these gains were not maintained at the two-month follow-up assessment. Additionally, those in the intervention condition perceived depression to be more responsible for their functional impairment following participation in the program, but not at the two-month follow-up. Participants did not report changes following the intervention or at the two-month follow-up to coping skills, anxiety symptoms, or depression symptoms. Attrition prior to the intervention was high for those in the intervention condition. Findings demonstrate that the friends and family for mental health program improves informal caregiving skills, but limitations related to attrition suggest caution is warranted when interpreting these findings. Additionally, intervention benefits were only short-term. Future efforts evaluating interventions directed at informal caregivers in rural communities are encouraged to consider ways to maintain benefits and reduce attrition.