MedTrace Logo

Biomechanical Validation of the Caregiver Assisted Transfer Technique Instrument

NCT06013878 · Status: RECRUITING · Type: OBSERVATIONAL · Enrollment: 160

Last updated 2026-07-23

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

As of 2020, 53 million Americans provide unpaid care to an individual with a disability. One commonly performed activity of daily living (ADL) provided by informal caregivers is assisted transfers, which requires moving an individual from one surface to another. Approximately 94% of informal caregivers who assist with ADLs to persons with adult-onset chronic physical disabilities affecting mobility reported musculoskeletal discomfort, with pain and discomfort made worse by performing caregiving activities. Although many informal caregivers assist with transfers, most have never received any formal training in proper manual lifting or mechanical lifting techniques. Improper transfer techniques can be detrimental to not only caregiver health but also to the persons they assist resulting in shoulder injury, bruising and pain from manual lift techniques, hip fractures from falls, and skin tears from shear force that occurs with sliding during transfers. Current standard of care provides limited in-person training of caregivers, as most of the rehabilitation process is client-focused. When training is provided clinicians have no means to objectively evaluate if proper techniques are being performed at discharge or when the caregiver and care recipient return home. For this reason, an outcome measure called the Caregiver Assisted Transfer Technique Instrument (CATT) was developed to provide a quick, objective way to evaluate proper technique of caregivers who provide transfer assistance to individuals with disabilities. The CATT evaluates the caregiver's performance on setup, quality of the task performance, and results. After a formal assessment through stakeholder review involving clinicians, informal caregivers, and individuals with physical disabilities who require transfer assistance, the CATT was expanded to include two versions; one that evaluates manual lift technique (CATT-M) and one that evaluates mechanical lift techniques (CATT-L). However, the CATT must undergo further testing with informal caregivers and the individuals they assist to determine if the CATT is a reliable, valid, and responsive tool for identifying skill deficits in caregivers performing assisted transfers. The purpose of this study is to establish the psychometric properties (reliability, validity, and responsiveness) of the CATT and to evaluate the effects of an individualized training session for participants who have transfer technique deficits as identified by the CATT. The long-term goal of this research is to develop the CATT so that it can be used as an objective indicator of transfer performance as well as guide training and educational interventions for informal caregivers to reduce the risk of musculoskeletal pain and injury associated with assisted transfers.

Conditions

  • Informal Caregivers
  • Low Back Pain
  • Biomechanics

Interventions

OTHER

Transfer Training with clinician

Participants will undergo transfer training with a clinician who is an expert on assisted transfer techniques if they are found to have skill deficits during the study. After training, a transfer assessment will be conducted to examine if the transfer skills of the caregiver have improved

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • VA Office of Research and Development

    lead FED

Principal Investigators

  • Alicia M Koontz, PhD · VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System University Drive Division, Pittsburgh, PA

Eligibility

Min Age
18 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2024-07-24
Primary Completion
2027-09-01
Completion
2027-10-31

Countries

  • United States

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT06013878 on ClinicalTrials.gov