METHODS

Design:

randomised controlled trial.

Allocation:

{concealed*}†.

Blinding:

blinded {data collectors, data analysts, data safety monitoring committee and manuscript writers}†.*

Follow up period:

12 weeks.

Setting:

memory and day clinics of a geriatrics department and patients’ homes in Nijmegen and the surrounding area, the Netherlands.

Patients:

135 patients ⩾65 years of age (mean age 78 y, 56% women) who had mild to moderate dementia, were living in the community, and were visited by primary caregivers weekly. Exclusion criteria included scores >12 on the Geriatric Depression Scale, severe behavioural or psychological symptoms in dementia, severe illness judged by a geriatrician, and <3 months treatment with …