Development & Pilot RCT of an Online Peer Support Program for Family Caregivers of Ventilator-Assisted Individuals

University of Toronto

Status: Unknown

Conditions: Ventilators, Mechanical; Affect; Social Support

Treatments: Behavioral: Online Peer Support Program

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT03376711

32210

Details and patient eligibility

About

Ventilator assisted individuals (VAIs) living at home are frail and generally cannot perform most daily activities. Although these individuals prefer to live at home, the family members who care for them often experience stress and poor health. Peer support can mitigate health declines by decreasing caregivers' isolation/stress and increasing their sense of control. However, no peer support programs are designed to meet these caregivers' complex and unique needs. Online support delivery is especially beneficial for caregivers given the geographic and time limitations they face. The proposed research aims to develop and conduct an RCT of online peer support program for VAI caregivers. A group of caregivers will be trained to act as peer mentors. This training program will be evaluated for its impact on caregivers' mentoring abilities. At the end of the 12-week program, caregiving participants will be asked about the online delivery of the program, how helpful/satisfactory it was, and if it affected their health and well-being. The health outcomes of the control and intervention group will be compared. This peer support program can improve the well-being of caregivers and allow them to better care for their family members.

Enrollment: 60 estimated patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18+ years old

Volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion criteria

1. age = 18 years; 2) primary family caregiver for a VAI living in the community; 3) able to speak and read English; and 4) access to a computer and a reliable internet connection.

Exclusion criteria

1. currently experiencing severe depression as indicated by a score of 40 or higher on the Centre for epidemiological studies short depression scale (CES-D 10).

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

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60 participants in 2 patient groups

Standard Care Group

No Intervention group

Description:

Participants in this arm of the study will not have access to the online peer support program until the end of the 12-week trial.

Online Peer Support Program

Experimental group

Description:

Participants in the online peer support program arm of the intervention will have access to the website for 12 weeks.

Treatment:

Behavioral: Online Peer Support Program