Effects of Cannabidiol on Burnout Syndrome and Empathy of Caregivers of Older Adults

Plain-language summary

Burnout syndrome is an occupational disease that has affected health care providers, for example, caregivers of older adults. This syndrome negatively affects physical and psychological health, which may reflect on the mental health of the caregiver and the care provided to the older adults. Interventions have been developed to minimize the impacts of burnout. Thus, this study has two main objectives: 1) to identify the effect of cannabidiol on indicators of burnout and empathy of caregivers of older people with functional dependence for activities of daily living; 2) identify possible associations between burnout indicators, empathy levels and their domains, and quality of care. This is a two-phase study (i.e., Phase 1: cross-sectional; Phase 2: clinical trial). In Phase 1, caregivers will answer questionnaires developed by researchers for sociodemographic characterization, care and satisfaction of care. In addition, they will complete instruments to assess the functional dependence of the older people - EIAVD, depressive symptoms - PHQ-9, social support - EAS, Burnout syndrome - MBI and Empathy - EMRI and MET. In Phase 2, caregivers will be randomized to cannabidiol or placebo intervention. Caregivers with number 0 will be allocated to the intervention using cannabidiol (300mg - divided into two times a day) and those drawn with number 1 will be allocated to the placebo group. Both interventions will be performed for four weeks. Caregivers will fill in the MBI, EMRI, MET, NPI and QAO instruments before and after the intervention. UKU-SERS will also be applied to evaluate side effects, IECC to assess the impact of intervention on care and CGI to assess severity and response to treatment.

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