Alzheimer Disease, Behavioral Symptoms, Caregiver, Dementia, Memory Disorders
Conditions
Brief summary
This research will test the WeCareAdvisor tool for family caregivers of military veterans with dementia to help caregivers assess, manage and track behavioral symptoms and their contributing factors (e.g., pain, sleep disturbance), and that provides tailored strategies for in-home, medication-free behavior management. 60 caregiver-person with dementia dyads will be recruited (30 Treatment Group, 30 Wait-List Control Group).
Interventions
BEHAVIORALWeCareAdvisor
Tailored, internet-based software intended to assess, manage and track behavioral symptoms and their contributing factors and to instruct dementia caregivers in problem solving approaches (tailored strategies for in-home, medication-free behavior management) to address difficult or disruptive behaviors exhibited by the person with dementia. During the testing period participants will refer to the WeCareAdvisor when behavioral challenges occur.
Sponsors
United States Department of Defense
University of Michigan
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
21 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Eligible caregivers must: * Be the primary caregiver of a military veteran with dementia for at least 6 months and planning to remain the primary caregiver for the next 2 months * Currently living with the person they are caring for (care recipient) * Comfortable utilizing technology (e.g. computers, tablets, the internet) * Have access to the internet and a computer or tablet device * Plans to live in the area for the duration of the study Care recipients (military veteran living with dementia) must: * Exhibit at least one or more behavioral symptoms (any behavior at any frequency) * Receiving psychotropic medication or cognitive enhancers will not exclude the care recipient. * Have a clinical diagnosis of dementia (any type) per caregiver report. * Be a military veteran.
Exclusion criteria
* Inability to read, speak or understand English * Lack of regular access to a telephone, internet, technology (tablet or computer) * Caregiver is unable to use a computer or tablet * Person with dementia is not a military veteran
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Caregiver Stress | Baseline to 2 months | As measured by a study specific questionnaire completed by caregivers. Stress is measured on a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 is equivalent to no stress and 5 is equivalent to extreme stress. |
| Change in Caregiver Confidence in Managing Problematic Behavior | Baseline to 2 months | As measured by a study specific questionnaire completed by caregivers. Confidence in managing problematic behavior is measured on a scale of 0 to 10, where a score of 0 means not confident and 10 means extremely confident |
| Change in Caregiver Upset | Baseline to 2 months | As measured by a study specific questionnaire completed by caregivers. Upset is measured on a scale of 0 to 5 where 0 is equivalent to no upset and 5 is equivalent to extreme upset (midpoint is equivalent to fairly upset). |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Caregiver Communication | Baseline to 2 months | Caregivers rate the frequency of using six forms of negative communication (yelling, threatening, criticizing, withdrawing from patient, using harsh tone and screaming), measured on a scale of 1 to 5 where a score of 1 is never and a score of 5 is always. |
Other
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Ease of Use of the WeCareAdvisor Tool | 1 month after using WeCareAdvisor tool | As measured by a study specific questionnaire completed by caregivers. Ease of use of the WeCareAdvisor tool is measured on a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 is equivalent to strongly disagree and 7 is equivalent to strongly agree (midpoint is equivalent to neutral). |
| Usefulness/ Perceived Benefit of the WeCareAdvisor Tool | 1 month after using WeCareAdvisor tool | As measured by a study specific questionnaire completed by caregivers. Usefulness/perceived benefit of the WeCareAdvisor tool is measured on a scale of 1 to 7 where 1 is equivalent to strongly disagree and 7 is equivalent to strongly agree (midpoint is equivalent to neutral). |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed