Dementia
Conditions
Keywords
Dementia, Caregivers, Alzheimer's disease
Brief summary
Caring for a patient with dementia is associated with increased feelings of burden and depression. The proposed study will examine the efficacy of Family Intervention: Telephone Tracking - Dementia (FITT-Dementia), a multi-component, family-based, telephone intervention, as a tool to reduce caregiver stress.
Detailed description
A previous pilot study of this approach showed reduced burden and reaction to memory and behavior problems for dementia caregivers. This study will test the intervention in a larger group of caregivers and have a more detailed analysis of outcomes. The caregiver of a person with dementia will receive telephone support calls. They will receive telephone calls from a trained member of the research team. These calls will occur over a six-month period and will be scheduled at a time that is convenient for the caregiver. They will receive a total of 16 calls over 6 months. During each call, the support person will discuss their current caregiving situation and provide various forms of support.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALFamily Intervention:Telephone Tracking Support- Caregiver
Family-based problem solving treatment
BEHAVIORALTelephone Support
Supportive telephone counseling about caregiving
Sponsors
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)
Rhode Island Hospital
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SINGLE_GROUP
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
50 Years to 90 Years
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* 1\) Diagnosis of dementia; * 2\) mild to moderate dementia; * 3\) family member or other adult in caregiver role for at least 6 months, and who provides at least 4 hours of supervision or direct assistance per day for the person with dementia; * 4\) care recipient lives in the community, including senior/retirement centers, but excluding nursing homes and assisted living centers; and * 5\) there is no plan for the care recipient to be placed in long term care or the caregiver to end their role within the next 6 months
Exclusion criteria
Patient: * 1\) other major medical condition affecting independent functioning * 2\) older than age 90; and * 3\) younger than age 50. Caregiver: * 1\) major acute medical illness; * 2\) English not primary language; * 3\) cognitive impairment; * 4\) no access to a telephone; or * 5\) older than age 90.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Depression, burden, reaction to memory and behavior problems | Every two months, over a 6 month time-period , and a three month follow-up |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame |
|---|---|
| Cost-effectiveness and resource use | Monthly resource check-ins. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed