Future Planning and Well-Being for Individuals With Intellectual Disabilities and Family Caregivers

People with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) experience alarmingly high rates of mortality, morbidity, and acute care utilization compared to those without an IDD, particularly during emergencies. Caregiver health and well-being is a determinant of health outcomes for people with an IDD. Yet, caregivers are aging and frequently experience high caregiver burden and poor well-being. Poor preparedness and planning lead to crises and harm, including emotional trauma, unsafe living conditions, unwanted emergent nursing home placements, and potential early mortality, for both people with an IDD and their family caregivers.

The goal of this study is to promote health emergency preparedness and long-term care (LTC) decision-making among individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD) and their family caregivers to improve patient- and caregiver-reported health and quality of life outcomes. Through partnerships with adults with IDD, their families, IDD community organizations, and IDD services agencies, the investigators seek to conduct a randomized controlled trial comparing the effectiveness of Map Our Life - a web-based future planning intervention and enhanced usual care (EUC) - care coordination services vs. an attention control (AC) and EUC on health promotion for people with disabilities and their family caregivers. Aim 1 will compare the effectiveness of Map Our Life +EUC vs AC+EUC on family caregiver support and well-being at 1, 6, and 18 months. Aim 2 will examine the comparative effectiveness of Map Our Life +EUC vs. AC+EUC on planning behaviors and communicating future preferences for LTC planning, and its mediating effects on family caregiver support and well-being at 1, 6, and 18 months. Finally, aim 3 will identify how individual and caregiver need factors and access to services and supports moderate intervention treatment effects at 6 and 18 months from the perspective of the individual with IDD and separately from their caregiver.

We will conduct a national, multi-site, two-arm, randomized controlled trial (RCT) of primary family caregivers of individuals with IDD. A total of 1050 family caregivers will be randomized 1:1 to one of 2 treatment arms: (1) enhanced usual care plus a web-based future planning intervention, Map Our Life; and (2) attention control website plus EUC. Primary participants will be family caregivers of individuals with IDD who are at least 18 years old living in community settings recruited from stakeholder groups, Northwell Health (New York), Christiana Care Health System (Delaware), Baylor College of Medicine (Texas), Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania), Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center (Ohio), and Geisinger Health (Pennsylvania). Primary outcomes include caregiver burden and caregiver wellbeing. Secondary outcomes include adequacy and satisfaction with services and supports, well-being and planning choices of adult care recipient with IDD, and planning behaviors and communication of plans. Participants will complete surveys at the time of enrollment and at 1-, 6-, and 18- months post enrollment.