Marriott et al (Reference Marriott, Donaldson and Tarrier2000) have shown the usefulness of focused interventions in reducing the burden on caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's disease. The authors did not specify the kind of information provided to the carers in the control groups. We presume that they did not receive the kind of detailed information that was given to the caregivers in the study group. Thus, this study was not designed to compare the effects of giving information alone with an intervention programme, where giving information was only one of its components. Despite this, the authors had come to the conclusion that “providing information alone to the carer had no effect on burden”.

If one control group had received the initial three sessions of the intervention and was compared to the study group, then we would have known the efficacy of that component of the intervention. The study design does not allow us to come to conclusions about the relative efficacy of the different components of the intervention programme. So one could speculate that the first three sessions were crucial and mostly responsible for the improvement.

By dismissing the possibility that information alone could have desirable effects, the authors have underestimated its therapeutic value. We disagree with the assertion of the authors that they found little evidence that information alone significantly reduced burden or had an impact on the patient. We are of the opinion that neither the study design nor their findings allow such conclusions. Effects of single-component interventions, like giving information and educating the caregiver, have to be evaluated thoroughly considering the potential for widespread application in the community, especially in developing regions of the world. There is an urgent need for developing and evaluating services that can be of use in developing countries (10/66 Dementia Research Group, 2000). Interventions that are costly and need highly trained professionals for implementation have serious limitations in such settings.