Comparative Effectiveness of Dementia Care Strategies in Underserved Communities

RanD

Status: Completed

Conditions: Dementia

Treatments: Behavioral: Dementia care management

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other; NIH

Identifiers

NCT01459783

HQ217RC4

1RC4AG038804-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Details and patient eligibility

About

Dementia is a condition that is growing in prevalence and which harms not only the afflicted individual but also adversely affects the health of their family and other informal caregivers. New methods for delivering comprehensive assistance to persons with dementia and their caregivers are known to be effective and can delay nursing home placement, but this study will discover 1) whether more face-to-face involvement rather than telephone delivery of this assistance will work better among poor patients in Los Angeles, and 2) if one method is better than the other, what are the differences in costs between them. These data will enable administrators in public health care settings around the US and non-profit foundations addressing dementia patient and caregiver needs to decide what method provides the best value and the best outcome relative to its cost.

Enrollment: 144 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 21+ years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

• Caregivers of persons with dementia
• Caregivers must either live with the care recipient (person with dementia) or be the identified primary support
• Caregiver relationship must have been present for the prior 6 months
• Caregivers must have telephone access
• Caregivers must speak English or Spanish
• Care recipients must have a prior dementia diagnosis
• Care recipients must be living in the community other than a nursing facility

Exclusion criteria

• Persons with dementia, lacking an informal caregiver who can communicate in Spanish or English, or living in a long term care facility
• Caregiver lacks the capacity to consent to study participation

Trial design

Primary purpose: Health Services Research

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: Single Blind

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144 participants in 2 patient groups

Dementia care management in person

Active Comparator group

Description:

The dementia care management protocol will be delivered via face-to-face interactions in participants' homes or in mutually convenient locations between a trained care manager and the care recipient/informal family caregiver dyad, supplemented by telephone.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Dementia care management

Dementia care management telephone only

Active Comparator group

Description:

The dementia care management protocol will be delivered via telephonic meetings only. Assessment, education, counseling, and social support procedures as well as referral and follow-ups will follow the same procedural content as stipulated for the face-to-face intervention, however, contact will not be planned in person.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Dementia care management