Dementia Prevention Internet-Based Intervention: Randomized Controlled Trial and Knowledge Translation
Trial Snapshot
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Status
- Completed
- Sponsor
- McMaster University
- Enrollment
- 536
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Knowledge change (custom 15-item knowledge questionnaire related to key dementia prevention modifiable risk factors
Study Overview
Brief Summary
In this proposal, the investigators plan to study the effectiveness of our web-based intervention on dementia prevention knowledge, intentions, and behaviour change. Participants will be randomized to one of two groups - intervention and control. Participants randomized to the intervention group will receive the dementia prevention e-learning. Participants in the control group will be assigned an alternate-topic e-learning lesson. All participants will be given access to all e-learning at the conclusion of the study.
The purpose of this phase is to explore if and how our dementia prevention e-learning influences participants' knowledge, intentions and health behaviours related to dementia risk.
Detailed Description
Background:
With our aging population, the prevalence of dementia is increasing dramatically. Developing a better understanding of how dementia can be prevented and sharing information about how Canadians can reduce their risk of developing dementia or delay its onset is critical to keeping Canadians healthy and improving quality of life. Web-based interventions in dementia have been shown to be effective for a range of outcomes, but very few have been widely implemented or rigorously studied; additionally, national, and provincial guidelines have all highlighted the importance of online resources to improve dementia prevention education. This has been further brought into focus by the coronavirus pandemic. While there have been studies of web-based health information on intentions and behaviour change, the vast majority of those studies have looked at text-based health information, rather than internet-based interventions that have incorporated best practices in instructional design for e-learning. This project will help to address this gap in the literature, as improved instructional design should have an impact on knowledge gain, which the investigators hypothesize may increase intentions and behaviour change.
The investigators developed a high-quality, award-winning web- and email-based dementia prevention education platform for care partners, which includes asynchronous, multimedia e-learning lessons and email-based 'micro-learning' content to reinforce the learning.
Objective:
In this proposal, the investigators plan to study the effectiveness of our web-based intervention on dementia prevention knowledge, intentions, and behaviour change.
Study Design
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel
- Primary Purpose
- Prevention
- Masking
- Single (Participant)
Masking Description
Efforts will be made to blind participants to their allocation group (intervention or control). To do this, we will ensure that promotional advertisements do not contain logos or direct website links. The informed consent form will not contain the exact outcome measures or the title of the intervention. To the best of our abilities, allocation concealment will be aided by referring to the intervention as 'e-learning about cognitive impairment and dementia prevention', without biasing participants to study hypotheses or study design.
Eligibility Criteria
- Ages
- 16 Years to — (Child, Adult, Older Adult)
- Sex
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria
- •No prior diagnosis of dementia
- •Live in Canada
- •16 years of age and over
- •Good command of the English language
- •Access to email and internet
- •Comfortable using email and internet, and
- •Ability to grant online informed consent
Exclusion Criteria
- •Prior diagnosis of dementia
- •Lives outside of Canada
- •Not 16 years of age or over
- •Does not speak English,
- •Does not have access to email or internet
- •Is not comfortable using email of internet
- •Does not grant informed consent
Arms & Interventions
Education Intervention
Participants in the intervention group will be provided e-learning about dementia prevention and promoting brain health, consisting of following components:
- One multimedia e-learning lesson on promoting brain health and preventing dementia;
- A series of 12 'micro-learning' emails (3 emails/week) with small segments of content to reinforce the material from the lesson.
- Curated resources related to dementia risk factors
Intervention: Education Intervention (Behavioral)
Education Control
Participants in the control group will be provided e-learning about mild cognitive impairment, consisting of following components:
- One multimedia e-learning lesson on mild cognitive impairment;
- A series of 12 'micro-learning' emails (3 emails/week) with small segments of content to reinforce the material from the lesson.
- Curated resources related to mild cognitive impairment
Intervention: Education Control (Behavioral)
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Knowledge change (custom 15-item knowledge questionnaire related to key dementia prevention modifiable risk factors
Time Frame: 0 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks
A custom 15-item knowledge questionnaire (multiple true-false response) to measure change related to key dementia prevention modifiable risk factors. Items are pulled from other validated surveys (i.e., Dementia Knowledge Assessment Scale) and key dementia prevention modifiable risk factors.
Secondary Outcomes
- Intentions change (custom 10-item intentions questionnaire related to key dementia prevention modifiable risk factors)(0 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks)
- Behaviour change(0 weeks, 4 weeks, 12 weeks)