Cognitive and Health Benefits of Expressive Writing for Family Caregivers Under Stress
Overview
- Phase
- Phase 1
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Stress, Psychological
- Sponsor
- University of Toronto
- Enrollment
- 120
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- General Health Questionnaire
- Last Updated
- 20 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The purpose of this study is to determine if expressive writing is an effective intervention for reducing stress, enhancing cognition, and improving quality of life for caregivers of older adults with dementia
Detailed Description
A significant and growing need exists to support caregivers of older adults with dementia, including methods of support that are easily implemented and targeted at caregivers who can not access multicomponent interventions. The current intervention examines the efficacy of one such approach: expressive writing (EW). We are examining the efficacy of EW, in terms of its ability to reduce stress, enhance cognition, and improve well-being, by comparing it to two control conditions: objective writing about how caregivers spend their time (time management; TM) and objective writing about non-personal historical events (history writing; HW).
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- •Primary family caregiver for an older adult with dementia
- •Self-reported caregiver stress or burden
- •Fluency in written/spoken English
Exclusion Criteria
- •non-family or non-primary caregiver
- •existing use of expressive writing / diary
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
General Health Questionnaire
Impact of Events Scale
Zarit Burden Interview (short form)
California Verbal Learning Test
Ruff 2 & 7 Selective Attention Test
Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS)