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Clinical Trials/NCT02092987
NCT02092987CompletedNot Applicable

Northern-Manhattan Hispanic Caregiver Intervention Effectiveness Study

Columbia University1 site in 1 country221 target enrollmentStarted: March 1, 2014Last updated:
Conditions
Interventions

Trial Snapshot

Phase
Not Applicable
Status
Completed
Enrollment
221
Locations
1
Primary Endpoint
Score on Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale

Study Overview

Brief Summary

The primary research question is which of the 2 best known dementia caregiver interventions, the New York University Caregiver intervention (NYUCI) and Resources for Enhancing Caregivers Health Offering Useful Treatments (REACH OUT), is more effective in alleviating depressive symptoms and caregiver burden among Hispanic caregivers in New York City. The investigators hypothesize that the NYUCI will be more effective than REACH OUT in reducing caregiver depressive symptoms and burden among Hispanics because of its focus on family-centered counseling, which is posited to be more important among Hispanic caregivers because of a cultural emphasis among Hispanics on family interactions in interventions. In order to answer the primary question, the investigators will conduct a pragmatic randomized trial comparing the NYUCI vs. REACH OUT in 200 Hispanic caregivers of persons with dementia in the community of Northern Manhattan. The total time of the intervention will be 6 months.

Our research question is which intervention, NYUCI or REACH OUT, is better in Hispanic relative (any relative) caregivers of persons with dementia. Our objective is to obtain effectiveness information that will help caregivers and health providers to make decisions about which intervention to choose. Our primary aim is to compare the effectiveness of the implementation of the NYUCI and REACH OUT in reducing depressive symptoms and burden. Our exploratory aims are to examine and compare the predictors of effectiveness of the NYUCI and REACH OUT and to examine additional outcomes such as caregiver stress and physical health, and outcomes related to the person with dementia. METHODS. We will conduct a pragmatic randomized trial of 200 relative caregivers of persons with dementia. Participants will be randomized to the NYUCI or REACH OUT. The total duration of the intervention will be 6 months, with assessments at baseline and follow-up. All interventions and questionnaires will be conducted in both English and Spanish. The study duration will be 3 years. The primary outcomes will be changes in caregiver depressive symptoms, measured with the Geriatric Depression Scale, and in caregiver burden using the Zarit caregiver burden interview.

Detailed Description

The prevalence of dementia is increasing with the aging of the population and the absence of prevention or cure. Thus, the burden of dementia on caregivers is also increasing. Hispanics have a higher prevalence of dementia than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), have higher caregiving burden, and may have less economic resources to cope with the caregiving burden. However, there is a paucity of evidence on the effectiveness of caregiver interventions in Hispanics. We propose to compare 2 interventions with evidence of efficacy, the New York University Caregiver intervention (NYUCI) and the translated Resources for Enhancing Caregivers Health Offering Useful Treatments (REACH OUT). The NYUCI is a family centered counseling intervention that focuses on reducing negative family interactions and improving family support of the primary caregiver. REACH OUT focuses on caregiver skills training through action-oriented formal problem solving, goal setting, and written action plans. The effectiveness of the NYUCI and the REACH OUT has never been compared. Thus, there is no way for caregivers to decide which intervention to choose. In addition, there is a paucity of data on the effectiveness of both interventions in Hispanics.

Study Design

Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel
Primary Purpose
Other
Masking
Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)

Eligibility Criteria

Ages
18 Years to 90 Years (Adult, Older Adult)
Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • •Self identified Hispanic
  • •Between the ages of 18 and
  • •Caregiver is related to persons receiving care either as a spouse (including common law partners) or a blood or in-law relative.
  • •Person receiving care has been diagnosed with dementia and reports at least 1 memory/cognition and 1 daily functioning symptom in our screening questionnaire (see appendix).
  • •Caregiver is physically able to provide care
  • •Caregiver does not have a diagnosis of major psychiatric disorder other than depression.
  • •Caregiver does not have depression with psychotic features or suicidal ideation or attempts in the last 5 years.
  • •Caregiver is expected to live in New York City in the next 6 months or is available for study procedures in the New York City area.
  • •There is at least one relative or close friend living in the New York City Metropolitan Area (New York, New Jersey, Connecticut).

Exclusion Criteria

  • •Not Hispanic
  • •Caregiver is not a relative as defined in the inclusion criteria.
  • •Person receiving care does not have dementia
  • •Other than depression, caregiver has a major psychiatric disorder such as schizophrenia
  • •Caregiver has depression with psychotic features or suicidal ideation in the last 5 years.
  • •Severe depression defined by a Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 >
  • •Previous or current participation in caregiver support programs with the NYUCI or the REACH OUT

Arms & Interventions

NYU Caregiver Intervention

Experimental

The New York University (NYU) caregiver intervention arm received the NYU caregiver intervention in addition to social work support and educational materials.

Intervention: Social work support (Other)

NYU Caregiver Intervention

Experimental

The New York University (NYU) caregiver intervention arm received the NYU caregiver intervention in addition to social work support and educational materials.

Intervention: Educational material (Other)

NYU Caregiver Intervention

Experimental

The New York University (NYU) caregiver intervention arm received the NYU caregiver intervention in addition to social work support and educational materials.

Intervention: NYU caregiver counseling intervention (Behavioral)

REACH OUT

Active Comparator

The Resources for Enhancing Caregiver Health Offering Useful Treatments (REACH OUT) intervention arm received the REACH OUT caregiver intervention in addition to social work support and educational materials.

Intervention: REACH OUT counseling intervention (Behavioral)

REACH OUT

Active Comparator

The Resources for Enhancing Caregiver Health Offering Useful Treatments (REACH OUT) intervention arm received the REACH OUT caregiver intervention in addition to social work support and educational materials.

Intervention: Social work support (Other)

REACH OUT

Active Comparator

The Resources for Enhancing Caregiver Health Offering Useful Treatments (REACH OUT) intervention arm received the REACH OUT caregiver intervention in addition to social work support and educational materials.

Intervention: Educational material (Other)

Outcomes

Primary Outcomes

Score on Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale

Time Frame: 6 months

Zarit Caregiver Burden Scale measures caregiver burden by asking caregivers to respond to a series of 22 questions about the impact of the patient's disabilities on their life. For each item, caregivers are to indicate how often they felt that way (never, rarely, sometimes, quite frequently, or nearly always). The Burden Interview is scored by adding the numbered responses of the individual items. Higher scores indicate greater caregiver distress. Estimates of the degree of burden can be made from preliminary findings: 0 - 20 (little or no burden), 21 - 40 (mild to moderate burden), 41 - 60 (moderate to severe burden), and 61 - 88 (severe burden).

Score on Geriatric Depression Scale

Time Frame: 6 months

The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) is a 30-item self-report assessment used to identify depression in the elderly. The GDS questions are answered "yes" or "no", instead of a five-category response set. One point is assigned to each answer and the cumulative score is rated on a scoring grid. The grid sets a range of 0-9 as "normal", 10-19 as "mildly depressed", and 20-30 as "severely depressed".Higher scores indicate more depressive symptoms.

Secondary Outcomes

  • Total Score on Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)(6 months)
  • Score on Perceived Stress Scale (PSS)(6 months)
  • Score on the PROMIS Short Form (SF) Depression Scale(6 months)
  • Score on Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) Physical Health Scale(6 months)

Investigators

Sponsor Class
Other
Responsible Party
Principal Investigator
Principal Investigator

José A. Luchsinger

Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology

Columbia University

Study Sites (1)

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