Virtual Senior Center

Not Applicable

Not yet recruiting

• Conditions: Social Isolation in Older Adults; Quality of Life (QOL); Activities of Daily Living

• Registration Number: NCT06946186
• Lead Sponsor: Washington University School of Medicine

Brief Summary

In a 3-group trial with randomization and follow-up for 12 months, we will compare use of the VSC as well as health and quality of life outcomes among 650 older adults in St. Louis who receive either: (1) home delivered meals AND a GrandPad; (2) home-delivered meals but no GrandPad for 6 months; and (3) in person meals at senior center but no GrandPad.

Detailed Description

The aims of the study are:

1. Recruit 650 older adults in St. Louis into the study - 400 home-delivered meal recipients and 250 receiving in-person meals at senior centers. Describe baseline differences between the two groups in use of senior center programming, technology access and use, and health and quality of life outcomes.

2. Randomly assign the 400 home-delivered meal recipients to get a GrandPad immediately (GP) or 6 months later (GP-6). Compare the GP and GP-6 groups to in-person meal recipients (IP) on: (A) VSC engagement at 6- and 12-month follow-up; and (B) health and quality of life outcomes at 6- and 12-month follow-up.

3. Examine longitudinal changes and hypothesized mediating pathways using 5 waves of data from baseline, 3-,6-,9- and 12-month follow-up. Specifically: (A) in the GP-6 group only, compare VSC engagement, health and quality of life outcomes at 6-month follow-up (a period in which they did not have a GrandPad) to 12-month follow-up (a period in which they did have a GrandPad); (B) examine 12-month trends in GrandPad and VSC engagement, health and quality of life outcomes within and across groups; and (C) test mediation of hypothesized explanatory variables from the study's conceptual framework to examine potential causal pathways for health and quality of life outcomes.

Study Timeline

• Status Verified: 2025-04
• Study Start: 2025-04
• Study First Submitted: 2025-04-13
• Study First Submitted QC: 2025-04-18
• Last Update Submitted: 2025-04-18
• Study First Posted: 2025-04-27
• Last Update Posted: 2025-04-27
• Primary Completion: 2026-12
• Study Completion: 2027-01

Recruitment & Eligibility

• Status: NOT_YET_RECRUITING
• Sex: All
• Target Recruitment: 650

Inclusion Criteria

• Current Home-delivered meal client with Aging Ahead

Exclusion Criteria

• Under age 65

Study & Design

• Study Type: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Design: SINGLE_GROUP

Primary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
The Social Isolation Scale in Older Adults (Nicholson et al., 2020; The Gerontologist)	12 month	This 6-item questionnaire measures the extent to which an individual feels socially unconnected, using 2 related constructs (3 items per construct): quantity of social contacts and sense of relationship. The response options for social contacts ranges from 1 (none) to 5 (6 or more) and the sense of relationship ranges from 1(strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). The possible summed scores range from 6 to 30, with higher scores indicating less social isolation.

Secondary Outcome Measures

Name	Time	Method
Digital Social Participation (Anderberg et al., 2021; JMIR)	12 month	This 6-item questionnaire measures extent to which someone feels that digital technology is beneficial in their life. Response options range from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree), so total summed scores range from 6 -30. A higher scores indicates more positive perceptions of digital technology.

Trial Locations

Locations (1)

Washington University; 🇺🇸 St. Louis, Missouri, United States