Utilizing Senior Companions to Enhance Dementia Care Services and Supports
Overview
- Phase
- Not Applicable
- Intervention
- Not specified
- Conditions
- Alzheimer Disease
- Sponsor
- University of Minnesota
- Enrollment
- 44
- Locations
- 1
- Primary Endpoint
- Utilization of LTSS by PWML and Caregivers
- Status
- Completed
- Last Updated
- 3 years ago
Overview
Brief Summary
The inability of healthcare systems to effectively manage Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) often results in families remaining unaware of important community-based, long-term services and supports (LTSS) that could help to mitigate the negative effects of cognitive impairment. This project will feature a collaboration between Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota and the University of Minnesota to evaluate a novel adaption of the volunteer Senior Companion Program (SCP) to: a) assist families better manage ADRD at home; b) identify and facilitate the use of LTSS; and c) improve engagement with primary care providers throughout the state of Minnesota. If successful, the PorchLight Project will offer a potentially efficient, wide-ranging service model for states and communities to implement for persons with ADRD and their caregiving families.
Detailed Description
This project will evaluate a novel adaption of the Senior Companion Program (SCP) administered by Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota to assist families better manage their relatives' Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ADRDs); identify and facilitate use of community-based long-term services and supports (LTSS); and improve engagement with healthcare providers. This intervention, called the PorchLight Project has the following aims: Specific Aim 1. Implement PorchLight Project for 25 persons with ADRD or memory concerns (collectively, persons with memory loss \[PWML\]) and/or their caregivers in one urban and rural region of Minnesota. A convergent parallel mixed methods design \[(QUAN+QUAL)--\>QUAL\] will be utilized to examine the feasibility, acceptability, and utility of PorchLight Project for 25 families and their SC-Ds (n = 20) over a 3-month period (i.e., Stage I of the NIH Stage Model). Specific Aim 2. Refine PorchLight Project delivery and implementation for efficacy evaluation. Activities to support this aim will include assessment of R61 milestones and incorporation of R61 findings to refine the PorchLight Project prior to efficacy evaluation. Through stakeholder engagement with the Dementia Healthcare Research Advisory Group (DHR) as well as analysis of the various quantitative and qualitative data elements collected during this Phase, we will finalize and refine effective training approaches for PorchLight Project Senior Companions (SCs), identify and confirm stakeholder-centric measures, and enhance the overall implementation of the PorchLight Project to inform a subsequent R33 Phase.
Investigators
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- Not provided
Exclusion Criteria
- •A PWML or caregiver will be ineligible if they have a diagnosis of a serious psychiatric illness, their symptoms have worsened in the last 6 months, and they don't receive steady, ongoing treatment for those symptoms.
Outcomes
Primary Outcomes
Utilization of LTSS by PWML and Caregivers
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month, 3-month
Community-based service utilization of PWML and caregivers will be assessed by asking participants to identify (from a fixed list of options) fifteen different home and community-based services (HCBS).
Quality of Primary Care Interactions
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month, 3-month
A 3-item measure of quality of interaction during primary care provider encounters. The total mean of item-responses was calculated, with a minimum value of 1 and a maximum value of 4. The higher scores mean higher quality interactions.
Caregiver Distress: Burden
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month, 3-month
Caregiver distress will be ascertained with the 22-item Zarit Burden Interview. Scores were summed; the higher the score, the more burden perceived. Minimum score of 0, high score of 88.
Caregiver Distress: Depressive Symptoms
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month, 3-month
Caregiver distress will be ascertained with the 20-item Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale. An average/mean, total score of item-responses was computed, with a minimum score of 1 and a high score of 4. The higher the score, the more depressive symptoms experienced.
PWML Well-being
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month, 3-month
We will assess the PWML health related quality of life using the EQ-5D-5L Visual Analog Scale. The measure is single score of a minimum of 0 and maximum of 100. Higher scores indicate better health.
PWML Depression
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month, 3-month
PWML Depression will be ascertained using the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale Short Form. The scale score is summed, with a minimum score of 0 and a maximum of 15. The higher the score, the greater the depressive symptoms experienced/indicated.
PWML Quality of Life
Time Frame: Baseline, 1-month, 3-month
PWML Quality of Life will be ascertained using the 13-item Quality of Life Alzheimer's Disease-Measure (QOL-AD). The measure score is summed. The minimum score is 13 and the maximum score is 52. The higher the score, the greater perceived quality of life.
Secondary Outcomes
- Caregiver Self-efficacy(Baseline, 1-month, 3-month)