An Internet-Based Education Program for Care Partners of People Living With Dementia

NCT ID: NCT05114187

Last Updated: 2023-10-19

Basic Information

• Recruitment Status: COMPLETED
• Clinical Phase: NA
• Total Enrollment: 125 participants
• Study Classification: INTERVENTIONAL
• Study Start Date: 2022-09-06
• Study Completion Date: 2023-09-05

Brief Summary

With the aging population, the prevalence of dementia is increasing dramatically. People living with dementia are highly dependent on family care partners, who may have little knowledge of the disorder. National and provincial guidelines have all highlighted the importance of online resources to improve care partner education; however, very few have been widely implemented or rigorously studied.

The investigators have developed the award-winning dementia education platform to complement traditional patient and family educational approaches. It allows free access to multimedia e-learning lessons, live expert webinars, and email-based content that care partners can access any time, anywhere.

In a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT), the investigators propose to study 1) the feasibility and care partner acceptance of the intervention and some of the study methods, and 2) the impact of the intervention on care partner self-efficacy, knowledge, and sense of burden.

This initiative has the potential to improve the quality, cost effectiveness, and efficiency of dementia care. The intervention could be easily scaled and spread both provincially and nationally to complement other dementia education methods, at a time when the prevalence of dementia is increasing and access to high quality internet-based interventions is essential.

Conditions

Dementia; Burden, Caregiver; Self Efficacy; Knowledge

Study Design

• Allocation Method: RANDOMIZED
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Primary Study Purpose: OTHER
• Blinding Strategy: TRIPLE

Study Groups

Education Intervention

Group Type: EXPERIMENTAL

Education Intervention

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants in the intervention group will be provided e-learning about dementia and promoting brain health, consisting of the following components:

1. Ten selected multimedia e-learning lessons;

2. A series of 16 'micro-learning' emails (2 emails/week) with small segments of content to reinforce the material from the lessons.

Participants will have 8-weeks to complete the intervention. The total time to complete is approximately 5-6 hours.

Education Control

Group Type: ACTIVE_COMPARATOR

Education Control

Intervention Type: OTHER

Participants in the control group will be provided e-learning about dementia and promoting brain health, consisting of the following components:

1. One selected multimedia e-learning lesson;

2. A series of 16 'micro-learning' emails (2 emails/week) with small segments of content to reinforce the material from the lessons.

Participants will have 8-weeks to complete. The total time to complete is approximately 1-2 hours.

Note: All participants will receive access to all e-learning at the conclusion of the study.

Interventions

Education Intervention

Participants in the intervention group will be provided e-learning about dementia and promoting brain health, consisting of the following components:

1. Ten selected multimedia e-learning lessons;

2. A series of 16 'micro-learning' emails (2 emails/week) with small segments of content to reinforce the material from the lessons.

Participants will have 8-weeks to complete the intervention. The total time to complete is approximately 5-6 hours.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Education Control

Participants in the control group will be provided e-learning about dementia and promoting brain health, consisting of the following components:

1. One selected multimedia e-learning lesson;

2. A series of 16 'micro-learning' emails (2 emails/week) with small segments of content to reinforce the material from the lessons.

Participants will have 8-weeks to complete. The total time to complete is approximately 1-2 hours.

Note: All participants will receive access to all e-learning at the conclusion of the study.

Intervention Type: OTHER

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

1. they are a family and/or friend care partner of a person living with dementia,

2. they reside in Canada,

3. they are 18 years of age and over,

4. they have a good command of the English language,

5. they have access to email and internet,

6. they are comfortable using email and internet,

7. they have the ability to grant online informed consent, and

8. they complete online baseline assessments.

Exclusion Criteria

1. they are a not family and/or friend care partner of a person living with dementia,

2. they do not reside in Canada,

3. they are not 18 years of age and over,

4. they do not have a good command of the English language,

5. they do not have access to email and internet,

6. they are not comfortable using email and internet,

7. they do not have the ability to grant online informed consent, and

8. they do not complete online baseline assessments.

• Minimum Eligible Age: 18 Years
• Eligible Sex: ALL
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

Sponsors

The Physicians' Services Incorporated Foundation

OTHER

Sponsor Role: collaborator

McMaster University

OTHER

Sponsor Role: lead

Responsible Party

Responsibility Role: SPONSOR

Locations

McMaster University

Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Countries

Canada

References

Levinson AJ, Ayers S, Clark S, Woodburn R, Markle-Reid M, McKenna B, Oliver D, Papaioannou A, Siu H, Sztramko R. Web-Based Education Program for Care Partners of People Living With Dementia (iGeriCare): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial. JMIR Res Protoc. 2025 Jun 4;14:e67048. doi: 10.2196/67048.

Reference Type: DERIVED

PMID: 40466093 (View on PubMed)

Other Identifiers

#21-24

Identifier Type: -

Identifier Source: org_study_id