An Innovative Caregiver Tool to Assess and Manage Behavioral Symptoms of Dementia

NCT ID: NCT02420535

Last Updated: 2016-12-19

Study Results

Results pending

The study team has not published outcome measurements, participant flow, or safety data for this trial yet. Check back later for updates.

Basic Information

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Recruitment Status

COMPLETED

Clinical Phase

NA

Total Enrollment

114 participants

Study Classification

INTERVENTIONAL

Study Start Date

2015-05-31

Study Completion Date

2016-10-31

Brief Summary

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Behavioral symptoms that commonly occur with dementia are associated with increased health care utilization and can lead to challenges for the person living with dementia and their caregivers. Caregivers need knowledge and skills to monitor these behaviors, to identify what triggers them, and to learn how to use proven, practical medication-free strategies to prevent and manage the behaviors. The purpose of this study is to develop and test the WeCareAdvisor, a customized, internet-based computer tool for family caregivers that helps them to assess, manage and track behavioral symptoms and their contributing factors (e.g., pain, sleep disturbance), and that provides tailored strategies for in-home, medication-free behavior management. This study is a collaboration between researchers at the University of Michigan and Johns Hopkins University.

Detailed Description

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Conditions

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Dementia

Keywords

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Dementia Alzheimer's Disease Caregivers Behavioral Caregiver burden

Study Design

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Allocation Method

RANDOMIZED

Intervention Model

CROSSOVER

Primary Study Purpose

SUPPORTIVE_CARE

Blinding Strategy

NONE

Study Groups

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Immediately Receive Tool

Caregiver/Care Recipient Dyad will be randomly assigned to immediately receive the WeCareAdvisor Tool for 4 weeks.

Group Type EXPERIMENTAL

Immediately Receive Tool

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

One Month Delay

Caregiver/Care Recipient Dyad will be randomly assigned to a 4 week delay (usual care activities only) before receiving the WeCareAdvisor Tool for 4 weeks.

Group Type ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

One Month Delay

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Interventions

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Immediately Receive Tool

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

One Month Delay

Intervention Type BEHAVIORAL

Eligibility Criteria

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Inclusion Criteria

General

* Age 21 years or older
* Ability to read, speak and understand English
* Home location within 50 miles of the study site Caregivers (CG)
* Active primary caregiver of a Person with Dementia (PwD) for at least 6 months and planning to remain the primary caregiver for the next 2 months
* Currently living with the PwD
* CG plans to live in the area for the duration of the study
* Is familiar and comfortable utilizing technology (e.g. computers, tablets, the internet)

Persons with Dementia (PwD)

* CG reports that the PwD exhibits at least one or more behavioral symptoms (any behavior at any frequency)
* PwD receiving psychotropic medication or cognitive enhancers will not be excluded.
* If PwD is on any of four classes of psychotropic medications (antidepressant, benzodiazepines, antipsychotic, or anti-convulsant) or an anti-dementia medication (memantine or a cholinesterase inhibitor), we will require that he/she have been on a stable dose for 60 days prior to enrollment (typical time frame in clinical trials) to minimize possible confounding effects of concomitant medications.
* Clinical diagnosis of dementia (any type) or a score of less than 24 on the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE)

Exclusion Criteria

General

* Inability to read, speak or understand English
* Home location greater than 50 miles from the study site
* Lack of regular access to a telephone Caregivers (CG)
* Reading literacy of less than 6th grade
* Visual impairment to the extent of prohibiting interaction with the tool
* Hearing impairment sufficient to prohibit telephone communication
* Other self-identified mental or physical health issues that would distinctly interfere with the ability to reasonably test the tool or complete behavioral interventions (e.g. substance use disorder, schizophrenia, severe mobility issues)
* Hospitalized more than 3 times in the past year
* Participating in another study to help caregivers care for the person with dementia.

Persons with Dementia (PwD)

* At a terminal phase of illness, unable to respond to the environment or with a life expectancy less than 6 months
* Active suicide risk
* Imminent placement to nursing home (within the next 60 days)
* Hospitalized more than 3 times in the past year
* Currently in another study testing a medication to control behavioral symptoms
Minimum Eligible Age

21 Years

Eligible Sex

ALL

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sponsors

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Johns Hopkins University

OTHER

Sponsor Role collaborator

University of Michigan

OTHER

Sponsor Role lead

Responsible Party

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Helen Kales

Professor of Psychiatry, Director, The Program for Positive Aging Research, Associate Director for Mental Health and Aging Research,The Geriatrics Center

Responsibility Role PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Principal Investigators

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Helen Kales, MD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

University of Michigan

Laura Gitlin, PhD

Role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR

Johns Hopkins University

Locations

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Johns Hopkins School of Nursing

Baltimore, Maryland, United States

Site Status

University of Michigan Department of Psychiatry

Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States

Site Status

Countries

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United States

References

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Gonzalez-Fraile E, Ballesteros J, Rueda JR, Santos-Zorrozua B, Sola I, McCleery J. Remotely delivered information, training and support for informal caregivers of people with dementia. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2021 Jan 4;1(1):CD006440. doi: 10.1002/14651858.CD006440.pub3.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 33417236 (View on PubMed)

Kales HC, Gitlin LN, Stanislawski B, Myra Kim H, Marx K, Turnwald M, Chiang C, Lyketsos CG. Effect of the WeCareAdvisor on family caregiver outcomes in dementia: a pilot randomized controlled trial. BMC Geriatr. 2018 May 10;18(1):113. doi: 10.1186/s12877-018-0801-8.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 29747583 (View on PubMed)

Gitlin LN, Kales HC, Marx K, Stanislawski B, Lyketsos C. A randomized trial of a web-based platform to help families manage dementia-related behavioral symptoms: The WeCareAdvisor. Contemp Clin Trials. 2017 Nov;62:27-36. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2017.08.001. Epub 2017 Aug 9.

Reference Type DERIVED
PMID: 28800895 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

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HUM00066639

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id