Investigating the effect of a novel discourse intervention on everyday communication in people with dementia.

Not Applicable

• Conditions: Dementia; Primary progressive aphasia; Neurological - Dementias; Physical Medicine / Rehabilitation - Speech therapy

• Registration Number: ACTRN12621000664842
• Lead Sponsor: Curtin University

Brief Summary

Not available

Detailed Description

Not available

Study Timeline

• Results First Posted: 1900-01-01
• Study Start: 2021-06-01
• Last Update Posted: 7 June 2021

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: ot yet recruiting
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 15

Inclusion Criteria

(1) clinical diagnosis of a dementia syndrome (i.e. major neurocognitive disorder, DSM-5), including Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia and/or PPA or progressive language impairment (e.g. complaints of word finding and/or communication difficulties that are worsening over time), (2) early to moderate stage of disease progression as determined by the MMSE (13-25 points) or ACE-III (38-88 points; So et al., 2018), noting that cut off criteria may be adjusted for each participant based on their age and years of education in consultation with their medical specialist, (3) capacity to consent to participation as determined by their treating medical specialist, (4) normal or corrected hearing and vision, and (5) proficient in English (used English in everyday communication [no interpreter required for therapy]).

Exclusion Criteria

(1) severe dementia (MMSE < 13; ACE-III <38; So et al., 2018), (2) primary impairment of apraxia of speech (AoS) or dysarthria, (3) a prior diagnosis of stroke, head injury or neurosurgery, and (4) clinically diagnosed major depression.

Study & Design

• Study Type: Interventional
• Study Design: Not specified

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The primary outcome measures involve analysis of Correct Information Units (CIUs) of language samples.<br><br>The first primary outcome measure is informativeness [%CIUs]<br><br>[Pre treatment baseline period (week 1 and 2)<br>Immediately post treatment (week 13)<br>Follow up (week 17)];The second primary outcome measure is efficiency [CIUs/min] of information communicated. <br><br>Analysis of CIUs has a long history and evidence base of use within the aphasia and dementia fields. [Pre treatment baseline period (week 1 and 2)<br>Immediately post treatment (week 13)<br>Follow up (week 17)]