Dementia, Sleep Disturbance
Conditions
Keywords
Dementia Caregiver, Sleep Bibliotherapy, Sleep Quality, Caregiver, Insomnia, Telephone Coaching, Behavioral Intervention
Brief summary
Sleep disturbances are common among informal caregivers of people with dementia and can negatively affect their physical and psychological well-being. This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effectiveness of an 8-week telephone-coached sleep bibliotherapy program in improving sleep quality among informal caregivers of people with dementia. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a sleep bibliotherapy intervention group or an educational booklet control group. Outcomes including sleep quality, caregiving appraisal, dysfunctional beliefs about sleep, emotional distress, neuropsychiatric symptoms of care recipients, and quality of life will be assessed at baseline, immediately post-intervention, and 3 months post-intervention.
Detailed description
This study is a two-arm randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the effectiveness of telephone-coached sleep bibliotherapy for informal caregivers of people with dementia. A total of 120 eligible caregivers will be recruited and randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the control group. The intervention group will receive an 8-week telephone-coached sleep bibliotherapy program. The control group will receive an educational booklet containing general health information and weekly check-in calls. Both groups will continue receiving usual community services. Data will be collected at baseline, immediately after the intervention, and 3 months after the intervention. The primary outcome is sleep quality measured using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Secondary outcomes include caregiving appraisal, dysfunctional beliefs and attitudes about sleep, emotional distress, neuropsyatric symptoms of care recipients, and quality of life. The findings will provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of a low-cost and easily disseminated intervention for improving sleep and well-being among caregivers of people with dementia.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALTelephone-Coached Sleep Bibliotherapy
An 8-week behavioral intervention consisting of a sleep bibliotherapy manual, cartoon videos, and weekly telephone coaching. The intervention integrates dementia caregiving education with behavioral and cognitive strategies to improve sleep among informal caregivers of people with dementia.
BEHAVIORALEducational Booklet
Participants receive an educational booklet containing general health information and weekly check-in telephone calls.
Sponsors
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Outcome assessors will be blinded to group allocation throughout the study. Participants and intervention providers cannot be blinded due to the nature of the behavioral intervention.
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
a) aged 18 years or older; b) provide unpaid care to a family member with dementia; c) living with the patient or actively involved in the patient's care daily for a minimum of 4 hours/day for at least 6 months; d) endorse one or more sleep problems; e) having the sleep problem with an average of 3 or more nights per week during the past month; d) taking no medication for sleep or stabilized on current medication for at least 6 weeks; e) could be contacted by phone.
Exclusion criteria
a) report a prior diagnosis of primary sleep disorder (e.g., sleep apnoea); b) have a severe chronic illness that could cause their sleep problems (e.g., emphysema); c) receive medical, psychological, or psychiatric treatment for sleep disturbance or depression; d) have cognitive impairment; e) be included in another interventional study.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sleep Quality | Baseline, immediately post-intervention (8 weeks), and 3 months post-intervention | Sleep quality will be assessed using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI). Higher scores indicate poorer sleep quality. |
Countries
Hong Kong
Contacts
CONTACTShanshan WANG, PhD
CONTACTMingyue HU, PhD
Outcome results
None listed