Caring Connections: a Program to Alleviate Social Isolation and Loneliness in Individuals Living with Spinal Cord Injury
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Spinal Cord Injuries and Disorders (SCI/D)
- Sponsor
- Chicago Association for Research and Education in Science
- Enrollment
- 62
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- loneliness
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- last year
Overview
Brief Summary
This study will use a randomized controlled design with an active attention control group to evaluate an intervention intended to reduce social isolation and loneliness in persons with SCI/D. The intervention, Caring Connections, is a peer-based intervention which is important because peers with SCI/D play an important role in improving quality of life, mental health, and social health in persons with SCI/D.
Detailed Description
The overall study objective is to conduct and evaluate a fully powered randomized control trial (RCT) to assess changes in loneliness and social isolation outcomes between the Caring Connections intervention and attention control condition in community-dwelling individuals with SCI/D. The Caring Connections intervention (described in detail below) is a peer-based, facilitated, letter writing program designed to provide feelings of social connectedness and moments of positivity to reduce loneliness and social isolation in persons with SCI/D.
Investigators
Sherri LaVela
Research Health Scientist
Chicago Association for Research and Education in Science
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Our target population will include adult Veterans with chronic SCI/D (duration of injury \> 1 year); this may include those with traumatic and non-traumatic SCI/D, and may include SCI, nonmalignant neoplasms resulting in neurologic deficit; vascular insults of a thromboembolic, hemorrhagic, or ischemic nature; cauda equina syndrome producing neurologic deficit; inflammatory disease of the spine, spinal cord, or cauda equina resulting in non-progressive neurologic deficit; and demyelinating disease of the spinal cord.
Exclusion Criteria
- •Veterans with SCI/D under the age of 18 will be excluded. Individuals with new injuries (injury duration less than one year) will be excluded as it is plausible that social isolation and loneliness may more likely occur after the first year of injury when individuals have transitioned to the community and may no longer be surrounded by people consistently for help with their acute care needs (Dickson 2011). There are no SCI/D level or severity exclusions, as we wish to reach a diverse group of individuals.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
loneliness
Time Frame: change from baseline to post-RCT (6 months)
UCLA 3-item Loneliness Scale
Secondary Outcomes
- social isolation(change from baseline to post-RCT (6 months))