Psychosocial Telephone Intervention for Dementia Caregivers
Overview
- Phase
- Phase 2
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Dementia
- Sponsor
- Rhode Island Hospital
- Enrollment
- 250
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Depression, burden, reaction to memory and behavior problems
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 11 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
Caring for a patient with dementia is associated with increased feelings of burden and depression. The proposed study will examine the efficacy of Family Intervention: Telephone Tracking - Dementia (FITT-Dementia), a multi-component, family-based, telephone intervention, as a tool to reduce caregiver stress.
Detailed Description
A previous pilot study of this approach showed reduced burden and reaction to memory and behavior problems for dementia caregivers. This study will test the intervention in a larger group of caregivers and have a more detailed analysis of outcomes. The caregiver of a person with dementia will receive telephone support calls. They will receive telephone calls from a trained member of the research team. These calls will occur over a six-month period and will be scheduled at a time that is convenient for the caregiver. They will receive a total of 16 calls over 6 months. During each call, the support person will discuss their current caregiving situation and provide various forms of support.
Investigators
Geoffrey Tremont
Director, Neuropsychology
Rhode Island Hospital
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Diagnosis of dementia;
- •mild to moderate dementia;
- •family member or other adult in caregiver role for at least 6 months, and who provides at least 4 hours of supervision or direct assistance per day for the person with dementia;
- •care recipient lives in the community, including senior/retirement centers, but excluding nursing homes and assisted living centers; and
- •there is no plan for the care recipient to be placed in long term care or the caregiver to end their role within the next 6 months
Exclusion Criteria
- •other major medical condition affecting independent functioning
- •older than age 90; and
- •younger than age
- •major acute medical illness;
- •English not primary language;
- •cognitive impairment;
- •no access to a telephone; or
- •older than age 90.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Depression, burden, reaction to memory and behavior problems
Time Frame: Every two months, over a 6 month time-period , and a three month follow-up
Secondary Outcomes
- Cost-effectiveness and resource use(Monthly resource check-ins.)