No Disease or Condition is Being Studied, Stress (Psychology)
Conditions
Keywords
K-Savvy
Brief summary
Many caregivers of people with Alzheimer's disease or other dementias-especially those in immigrant communities who don't speak English well-don't get access to helpful, proven support programs. This is especially true for Korean American caregivers. To address this, the investigative team adapted an existing caregiver support program (called the Savvy Caregiver Program) to better fit Korean culture and language. This new version, called K-Savvy, is a 6-week online program taught in Korean. In an earlier small study, K-Savvy worked well: caregivers found it helpful, were willing to use it, and showed fewer symptoms of depression. Now, the investigative team wants to study it more carefully to see how well it really works and why. The study has two main goals: Goal 1: The investigative team will measure whether K-Savvy improves caregivers' well-being-specifically whether it reduces stress and depression and helps them feel more positive about caregiving. The investigative team will also look at why it works, focusing on whether it changes how caregivers think about their situation (for example, feeling less overwhelmed and more confident). Goal 2: The investigative team will talk directly with caregivers and program instructors to understand their experiences with K-Savvy. This will help the investigative team learn what worked well, what didn't, and why.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALK-Savvy
Funded by the NIA (R21AG071790, PI: Jang), our team successfully completed linguistic and cultural adaptations of the Savvy Caregiver Program (SCP) for Korean American dementia caregivers with limited English Proficiency. The Korean version of the SCP (K-Savvy) has shown high feasibility, acceptability, and initial efficacy.
BEHAVIORALHealthy Living
6-week online health education for Korean Americans with limited English proficiency
Sponsors
University of Southern California
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
SEQUENTIAL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
Self-identified Korean American adults aged 18 or older Provide care for a family member with dementia as a primary caregiver Primary caregiver defined as providing a minimum of 10 hours per week of in-home caregiving to a family member Speak English less than "very well" Able to attend virtual classes using an electronic device with Internet access
Exclusion criteria
Individuals with severe depression (Patient Health Questionnaire \[PHQ-9\] score ≥ 20), as K-Savvy is not a mental health treatment program
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| depressive symptoms | from enrollment to 6-month follow-up | symptoms of depression assessed with Patient Health Questionnaire-9, range from 0 to 27 (higher scores indicating greater depressive symptoms) |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| caregiver burden | from enrollment to 6-month follow-up | the level of stress and burden measures with the Zarit's Caregiver Burden Scale, range from 0 to 48 (higher scores indicating greater sense of burden) |
Countries
United States
Contacts
CONTACTYuri Jang, PhD
CONTACTMin-Kyoung Rhee, PhD
Outcome results
None listed