Tailored Health Self-Management Interventions for Highly Distressed Caregivers: Family Members of Persons With Dementia

Summary

How do different health self-management interventions (resourcefulness training or biofeedback training) compare to usual care (dementia education) in affecting the health risks, and physical and mental health, of family caregivers of people with dementia? And, how do those health outcomes compare with similar measures for family caregivers of people with bipolar disorder? This one-year supplement study will exam these two aims as part of a larger four-year parent grant (NCT03023332). Caregivers enrolled in the study will be randomized to one of the three self-management interventions, with two data collections time points pre- and post-intervention.

Conditions

• Stress
• Carer Stress Syndrome
• Dementia
• Alzheimer Disease

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Biofeedback Training

Use of a heart-rate variability (HRV) tracking device to enable one to learn to alter physiology to improve health. Devices are used to measure physiological activity, e.g., breathing and heart function, and provide rapid, accurate "feedback" to the user, thereby enabling desired physiological changes that can endure over time without continued use of the device and to continue to influence behavior.

OTHER

Dementia Education

An educational program designed to teach family caregivers about the characteristics, types, causes, and risk factors of dementia, as well as teach about health promotion, the stages of dementia, behavior changes, communicating with a family member with dementia, and caring for oneself. The content to be presented within an audiovisual format using a tablet computer follows recommendations and guidelines developed through research and by the Alzheimer's Association and the National Institute on Aging.

BEHAVIORAL

Resourcefulness Training

A cognitive-behavioral intervention presented within an audiovisual format using a tablet computer that consists of teaching and reinforcing personal (self-help) and social (help-seeking) resourcefulness skills.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Case Western Reserve University

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Jaclene A Zauszniewski, PhD · Case Western Reserve University - Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

18 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2019-08-29

Primary Completion

2022-06-21

Completion

2022-06-21

Countries

• United States

Study Locations