Resilience-Building Intervention for Older Informal Caregivers

Summary

The goal of this pilot study is to test whether a newly developed resilience-building program is feasible and acceptable for older adults who provide unpaid care to people with functional impairment in the community. The program was developed based on earlier research with older caregivers, existing scientific evidence, and feedback from key stakeholders.

The main questions this study aims to answer are:

* Can older caregivers be successfully recruited and retained in the study?
* Is the program feasible and acceptable to deliver in community settings?
* Does the program show potential to improve resilience among older caregivers?

Researchers will compare:

* an intervention group receiving an 8-week multicomponent resilience-building intervention delivered through alternating in-person and online sessions at participating Active Ageing Centres and through Telegram group video calls. The program includes psychoeducation, peer support group, and access to an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot developed to support caregivers.
* an active control group receiving access to the AI chatbot and weekly telephone follow-up only.
* a control group continuing their usual caregiving routine.

Participants will:

* Be assigned to 1 of the 3 study groups based on the Active Ageing Centre they attend.
* Complete self-reported questionnaires before the intervention (T0, baseline), immediately after the intervention (T1, post-intervention), and 3 months later (T2, follow-up).
* Some participants may also be invited to participate in focus group discussions after the 8-week intervention period as part of a process evaluation to explore their experiences, perceived usefulness of the intervention components, barriers and facilitators to participation, and recommendations for refinement.

Findings from this pilot study will help refine the intervention and study procedures of a larger future trial.

Conditions

• Resilience, Psychological
• Older Adults (60 - 85 Years Old)
• Community Dwelling
• Informal Caregiver

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Multicomponent Resilience-building Program

Participants in the intervention group will receive the THRIVE program, an 8-week multicomponent resilience-building intervention developed based on prior participant need assessment, empirical evidence on resilience theory and caregiver resilience interventions, and stakeholder input. The intervention aims to strengthen psychological resilience among older informal caregivers. The format will be alternating in-person and online sessions conducted weekly over 8 weeks. In-person sessions will be held at participating Active Ageing Centres, while online sessions will be conducted through Telegram group video calls. Each 1.5-hour session will include: 1) psychoeducation; 2) peer support group sharing; and 3) an AI chatbot trained using local official resources. Sessions will be delivered by the same trained facilitator using a standardized intervention protocol. An independent observer will complete a fidelity checklist during each session to assess adherence to the protocol.

BEHAVIORAL

AI Chatbot and Telephone Follow-up Group

Participants will receive access to the same AI chatbot trained using information from local official health education and caregiving support resources. Participants will also receive weekly telephone follow-up calls from the research team over the 8-week study period. The telephone follow-ups aim to: 1) encourage use of the AI chatbot; 2) address any technical difficulties encountered during chatbot use; and 3) gather participants' feedback and experiences using a standardized telephone follow-up guide. All telephone calls will be audio-recorded and reviewed by the research team for fidelity monitoring to ensure consistency of delivery across participants.

Sponsors & Collaborators

• Lions Befrienders Service Association (Singapore)

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• FlocCare Pte. Ltd

  collaborator UNKNOWN

• National University Health System, Singapore

  collaborator OTHER

• National University of Singapore

  lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

TREATMENT

Masking

NONE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

60 Years

Max Age

85 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2026-08-01

Primary Completion

2027-03-31

Completion

2027-03-31