A clinical trial of internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy for family carers of people with dementia

The clinical and cost-effectiveness of internet-delivered self-help acceptance and commitment therapy for family carers of people with dementia (iACT4CARERS): a randomized controlled trial with ethnically diverse family carers

Status

Active, not recruiting

Phases

Unknown

Study type

Interventional

Source

ISRCTN

Registry ID

ISRCTN45995725

Enrollment

496

Registered

2023-04-12

Start date

2023-10-25

Completion date

Unknown

Last updated

2026-08-03

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Family carers of people with dementia Mental and Behavioural Disorders

Interventions

Potential participants will be recruited through various methods including self-referrals responding to study advertisements and referrals from Participant Identification Centres and participating tri

GAD7). Participants meeting eligibility criteria and scoring five or above on the GAD7 will be asked to continue completing all baseline measures online. If the postal information pack option is sele

Eligibility

Sex/Gender

All

Age

18 Years to 100 Years

Inclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria: 1. Aged 18 years and over 2. Caring for a family member diagnosed with dementia 3. Presenting anxiety symptoms (this will be assessed using a standardised measure GAD7 at screening) 4. Help-seeking (carers who want to receive online support) 5. Having access to the internet

Exclusion criteria

Exclusion criteria: 1. Lacking the capacity to provide fully informed written consent 2. Currently receiving ongoing formal psychological therapy (e.g. CBT, psychodynamic psychotherapy, systemic therapy and counselling) 3. Experiencing disabling medical or mental health problems making participation inappropriate or impractical 4. Expressing active suicidal intent

Design outcomes

Primary

Measure	Time frame
Anxiety is measured using the General Anxiety Disorder-7 (GAD7) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation	—

Secondary

Measure	Time frame
1. Depression is measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation 2. Psychological flexibility is measured using the Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes (CompACT) and the Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire (EACQ) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation 3. Quality of life is measured using the Health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L) and the ICEpop CAPability measure for Older people (ICECAP-O) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation 4. Health and social care service utilisation is assessed using the Modified Client Service Receipt Inventory (modified CSRI) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation 5. Satisfaction with therapy is measured using the Satisfaction With Therapy and Therapist Scale-Revised (STTS-R) at 12-week post-randomisation (only applicable to the intervention group)	—

Measure

Time frame

1. Depression is measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ9) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation 2. Psychological flexibility is measured using the Comprehensive Assessment of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy processes (CompACT) and the Experiential Avoidance in Caregiving Questionnaire (EACQ) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation 3. Quality of life is measured using the Health-related quality of life (EQ-5D-5L) and the ICEpop CAPability measure for Older people (ICECAP-O) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation 4. Health and social care service utilisation is assessed using the Modified Client Service Receipt Inventory (modified CSRI) at baseline and 12- and 24-week post-randomisation 5. Satisfaction with therapy is measured using the Satisfaction With Therapy and Therapist Scale-Revised (STTS-R) at 12-week post-randomisation (only applicable to the intervention group)

—

Countries

England, United Kingdom

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ISRCTN (via WHO ICTRP) · Data processed: Aug 9, 2026