Alzheimer's Disease, Caregiver Burden, Dementia, Older Adults, Oropharyngeal Dysphagia
Conditions
Brief summary
The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a newly-created website tool, called WeCareToFeedDysphagia, helps to reduce feelings of burden in care partners of patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) who were diagnosed with trouble swallowing (oropharyngeal dysphagia). The main questions this study aims to answer are: * How effective is the WeCareToFeedDysphagia tool in reducing feelings of burden in care partners? * Does the WeCareToFeed Dysphagia tool help improve patient outcomes? * Does care partner age, gender, and patient dysphagia severity impact the strength of the effect of the WeCareToFeedDysphagia tool? * Is the strength of the effect of the WeCareToFeedDysphagia tool impacted by care partner's beliefs in being able to manage behavior and stress (self-efficacy)? Researchers will compare a group of care partners who have access to the WeCareToFeedDysphagia tool (intervention) to a group of care partners who do not have access to the tool. Both groups will receive contact information for help from a speech language pathologist expert (enhanced usual care). Participants will: * be given access to the web tool and receive 3 text message reminders over 3 weeks to use the tool (intervention group only). * be asked to complete a remote, web-based survey three times: when enrolled in the study, at 1 month following patient leaving the hospital, and at 3 months following patient leaving the hospital.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALWeCareToFeedDysphagia web tool
The web tool uses written and video content, care-partner testimonials, frequently asked questions, and resource links to provide accurate information (e.g., dysphagia diets), set realistic expectations, identify/support feeding goals (quality of life considerations), acknowledge/support care-partner feelings, and provide competencies/skills for oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) management.
Sponsors
Northwell Health
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
DOUBLE (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Self-identifies as the primary care partner of an older adult patient (patient age ≥ 65 years) with AD/ADRD and oropharyngeal dysphagia (OD) admitted to the Northwell medicine service * Age ≥ 18 years * Designated as the legally authorized representative (LAR) or health care proxy (HCP), or designated by the LAR or HCP to participate * Proficient in English * Has access to a device (e.g. smartphone, iPad, computer) capable of accessing a web browser
Exclusion criteria
* Care partner of patient with a percutaneous feeding tube (i.e. PEG, PEJ used exclusively) * Care partner of patient who will not be discharged to the home or community setting (e.g., home, assisted living, independent living) * Care partner will not be involved with OD management (e.g. buying or making food, feeding, supervising) after hospital discharge
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Care Partner Burden at 3 Months Post Hospital Discharge | 3 months from hospital discharge | Burden will be measured using the Zarit Burden Scale (ZBI-22), a validated measure that assesses 22 statements related to personal strain accompanying caring for another person, which is rated with 5 frequency-related response categories, scored 0 (never) to 4 (nearly always). The total score ranges between 0 and 88 (higher scores indicating higher burden). A score greater than 21 has been suggested to indicate care-partner burden. Outcome measures will be captured through a link to an online questionnaire which will be sent to the care partner's smart phone/device via text message. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Mean Care Partner Burden at 1 Month Post Hospital Discharge | 1 month from hospital discharge | Burden will be measured using the Zarit Burden Scale (ZBI-22), a validated measure that assesses 22 statements related to personal strain accompanying caring for another person, which is rated with 5 frequency-related response categories, scored 0 (never) to 4 (nearly always). The total score ranges between 0 and 88 (higher scores indicating higher burden). A score greater than 21 has been suggested to indicate care-partner burden. Outcome measures will be captured through a link to an online questionnaire which will be sent to the care partner's smart phone/device via text message. |
| Mean Care Partner Quality of Life at 1 Month Post Hospital Discharge | 1 month from hospital discharge | Care Partner Quality of Life (CarerQol) will be measured using the validated Care-Related Qol-7D. The Care-Related Qol-7D measures well-being (CarerQol-VAS or visual analog scale) and subjective burden. The CarerQol-VAS measures happiness, using endpoints between 'completely unhappy' (0) and 'completely happy' (10). Subjective burden is measured on 7 dimensions (fulfillment, relational problems, mental health, daily activities problems, physical health, and support), and rated as (i) no, (ii) some, and (iii) a lot. The weighted score ranges from 0-100 (worst to best caregiving situation). Higher scores indicate higher quality of life. Outcome measures will be captured through a link to an online questionnaire which will be sent to the care partner's smart phone/device via text message. |
| Mean Care Partner Quality of Life at 3 Months Post Hospital Discharge | 3 months from hospital discharge | Care Partner Quality of Life (CarerQol) will be measured using the validated Care-Related Qol-7D. The Care-Related Qol-7D measures well-being (CarerQol-VAS or visual analog scale) and subjective burden. The CarerQol-VAS measures happiness, using endpoints between 'completely unhappy' (0) and 'completely happy' (10). Subjective burden is measured on 7 dimensions (fulfillment, relational problems, mental health, daily activities problems, physical health, and support), and rated as (i) no, (ii) some, and (iii) a lot. The weighted score ranges from 0-100 (worst to best caregiving situation). Higher scores indicate higher quality of life. Outcome measures will be captured through a link to an online questionnaire which will be sent to the care partner's smart phone/device via text message. |
| Percent Engagement with the WeCareToFeedDysphagia Tool | 3 months from hospital discharge | Engagement with WeCareToFeedDysphagia will be defined as percent of care partners viewing 2 or more pages within the tool. Success will be defined as greater than or equal to 45% of care partners engaging with the tool. Data will be captured via Google Analytics data to assess program usage in the domains of time/date of login, duration of page views, and document downloaded Engagement with the tool will be reported for the intervention arm only. |
Countries
United States
Contacts
PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATORLiron Sinvani, MD
Northwell Health
Outcome results
None listed