None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
This project will compare the effects of Skype (Trademark) and regular telephone conversations with a family member on the levels of agitation, mood and engagement shown by aged care residents with dementia and an agitated behaviour. Conversations with a family member will be held in random order via Skype (Trademark) computer software and regular audio-only telephones on four occasions each. Conversations will last for a maximum of 20 minutes. A researcher will conduct observations before, during and after the conversations to record the presence or absence of the target behaviour and residents’ engagement and affect.
Interventions
A research assistant will initiate Skype contact via an iPad between the aged care facility resident and their relative or carer twice per week for 2 weeks. The relatives or carers are asked that the call duration be no longer than 20 minutes however it is at the discretion of the resident and their relative or carer if the call is of a shorter duration. For consistency, the same relative or carer is required to particpate for the duration of the interventions. There is a wash-out period of at
A research assistant will initiate Skype contact via an iPad between the aged care facility resident and their relative or carer twice per week for 2 weeks. The relatives or carers are asked that the call duration be no longer than 20 minutes however it is at the discretion of the resident and their relative or carer if the call is of a shorter duration. For consistency, the same relative or carer is required to particpate for the duration of the interventions. There is a wash-out period of at least one week between treatments.
Sponsors
Dementia Collaborative Research Centre
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Open (masking not used)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
0 to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
A participant needs to be in the aged care facility for at least 3 months, have a history of dementia and be stable re: medical, psychological and medication regime. Also the agitated behaviours should occur several times an hour on a daily basis and are not associated with nursing activities (i.e. ADLs). The behaviours are also not due to pain, physical illness, depression or psychosis
Exclusion criteria
The presence of an acutely life threatening illness. The agitated behaviours are potentially dangerous to researchers.
Outcome results
None listed