Telephone Support for Dementia Caregivers

Phase 2

Completed

• Conditions: Dementia
• Interventions: Behavioral: Telephone Support

• Registration Number: NCT00735800
• Lead Sponsor: Rhode Island Hospital

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.

Study Timeline

• Study Start: 2008-02
• Study First Submitted: 2008-08-14
• Study First Submitted QC: 2008-08-14
• Study First Posted: 2008-08-15
• Primary Completion: 2013-05
• Study Completion: 2013-05
• Status Verified: 2015-05
• Last Update Submitted: 2015-05-04
• Last Update Posted: 2015-05-05

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: COMPLETED
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 250

Inclusion Criteria

• 1. Diagnosis of dementia;
• 2. mild to moderate dementia;
• 3. 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;
• 4. care recipient lives in the community, including senior/retirement centers, but excluding nursing homes and assisted living centers; and
• 5. 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

Patient:

• 1. other major medical condition affecting independent functioning
• 2. older than age 90; and
• 3. younger than age 50.

Caregiver:

• 1. major acute medical illness;
• 2. English not primary language;
• 3. cognitive impairment;
• 4. no access to a telephone; or
• 5. older than age 90.

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Arm && Interventions

Group	Intervention	Description
Supportive Counseling	Telephone Support	-

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Depression, burden, reaction to memory and behavior problems	Every two months, over a 6 month time-period , and a three month follow-up

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Cost-effectiveness and resource use	Monthly resource check-ins.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Rhode Island Hospital; 🇺🇸 Providence, Rhode Island, United States