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FallsTalk Falls Prevention Program for Caregivers and Persons With Memory Loss or Dementia

Not Applicable
Conditions
Falls (Accidents) in Old Age
Interventions
Behavioral: FallsTalk-C
Behavioral: FallsTalk
Registration Number
NCT03961386
Lead Sponsor
Brookside Research & Development Company
Brief Summary

This randomized-control trial involves dyads consisting of a family caregiver (CG) and a person with memory loss or dementia (PwD). The FallsTalk Caregiver Resource System (FT-C) intervention is administered by the CG, whose role is to modify their interactions with the PwD. FT-C will create a 3-way partnership between an Interventionist and the dyad, capitalizing on CG-PwD interactions. The PwD will be observed by the CG and both will be evaluated by the study team. Brief daily FT-C intervention by the CG will stimulate the PwD's awareness and individualized weekly CG- check-ins with the Interventionist will increase the CG's skills. Our hypothesis is that FT-C will increase PwD's awareness of personal fall threats and encourage new falls prevention behaviors, resulting in reduced fall rates.

Detailed Description

This is a single-site preliminary trial enrolling dyads in Western Washington state only.

Recruitment & Eligibility

Status
UNKNOWN
Sex
All
Target Recruitment
100
Inclusion Criteria
  • residence in western Washington state
  • minimum age= 18
  • family CG
  • primary CG
  • some daily personal contact with Person with Dementia (PwD) for 1 month
  • basic computer skills and telephone access
  • able to commit to 6 month study.

Persons with Dementia (PwD) Inclusion Criteria:

  • living at home with residence in western Washington state
  • minimum age= 55
  • at least one fall in last 6 months or regular loss of balance
  • can ambulate at least 6 feet
  • ability to communicate thoughts
  • willingness to participate.

CG

Exclusion Criteria
  • Professional CG (unless primary CG for family member)
  • distance CG unable to be physically present with PwD daily for 1 month
  • terminal illness with less than 6 months to live
  • CG has significant memory loss.

PwD Exclusion Criteria:

  • Residence outside of western Washington state
  • Living in Residential care setting
  • non-communicative
  • terminal illness with less than 6 months to live
  • wheel chair or bed bound.

Study & Design

Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Study Design
PARALLEL
Arm && Interventions
GroupInterventionDescription
FallsTalk-CFallsTalkFallsTalk CG intervention
FallsTalkFallsTalkFallsTalk intervention
FallsTalk-CFallsTalk-CFallsTalk CG intervention
Primary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Change of Residenceweekly for up to one year

Report of change of primary residence

Rate of fallsweekly for up to one year

number of falls per month

Secondary Outcome Measures
NameTimeMethod
Activity-Specific Balance Confidence scalePre-test at Initial interview; Post-test at Follow-up interview one month later

The Activity-Specific Balance Confidence scale is a standardized 16 item scale that measures an individual's self-efficacy about preventing a fall or loss of balance. The maximum score is 1600. Each item is scored from 0-100 with 0 indicating no confidence and 100 meaning complete confidence.

Fall Threat AwarenessPre-test- 5 clips at Initial interview; Post-test- 5 clips at Follow-up interview one month later

Ability to identify potential fall risks in 10 standardized novel multimedia clips administered in random order

Caregiver Falls Prevention ConcernsSurvey administered at study entry and Follow-up visit.

Specific concerns identified by Caregiver with respect to preventing falls in the person they care for.

Burden Scale for Family CaregiversBSFC is administered at Initial interview and Follow-up interview one month later.

The Burden Scale for Family Caregivers is a standardized 28 item scale that assesses subjective burden of the CG. The items are scored as strongly agree, agree, disagree or strongly disagree and the maximum score is 84. A score of 0 indicates no burden and a score of 84 indicates a very severe burden with a high risk of psychosomatic symptoms.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Brookside Research & Development

🇺🇸

Freeland, Washington, United States

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