German Adaptation of REACH II (GE-REACH)

University of Leipzig

Status

Completed

Conditions

Family Caregiver

Dementia

Treatments

Behavioral: GE-REACH-program

Study type

Interventional

Funder types

Other

Identifiers

NCT01690117

IIA5-2512FSB552

Details and patient eligibility

About

The purpose of the present study is to adapt, to implement and to evaluate an support program for family caregivers of patients suffering from Alzheimers'Disease (AD). The intervention was comprehensive developed and successful evaluated in the USA and is called Resources to Enhance Alzheimers´Caregiver Health -second step (REACH II). To test the effectiveness of this German adaptation of REACH II the present implementation study is designed as randomized and controlled trial. Primary outcome is reducing family caregiver burden.

Full description

Caring for elderly people with dementia imposes a heavy strain on care providers like family caregivers and puts them at risk of psychological and physical morbidity. A variety of psychosocial interventions have been developed which aim at improving caregiver emotional and physical health. These interventions differ in terms of treatment delivery (individual or group format) and content (education, symptom appraisal, problem solving, skill building, stress management or behavior modification). Systematic reviews and meta analyses have concluded that individualized programs have a greater impact than group interventions, and problem solving or behavior modification strategies are superior to education alone. Structured multi-component interventions may also reduce the risk of patients home admissions.

The intervention program "Resources to Enhance Alzheimer's Caregivers Health -second step" (REACH II) is a multimodal, individualized and structured multi-component intervention program for family caregivers and was successfully evaluated in a multisite, randomized and controlled trial in the USA. The overall objectives of REACH II are to identify and reduce modificable risk factors to enhance the well-being of the caregivers and to enhance the quality of care. It takes place at caregivers home and focuses on 5 domains that are important to caregivers: reducing depression, decreasing burden, improving self care, enhancing social support, and managing problem behaviours.

Since there is a lack of effective treatment programs for family caregivers of demented persons in the German Health system respectively care system the purpose of the present study is to adapt and to implement REACH II to the care system conditions of a medium-sized East German town (Leipzig). To test the effects of this adapted intervention program the present study is design as unisite, randomized and controlled trail. Primary outcome is reducing family caregiver burden.

Enrollment

92 patients

Sex

All

Volunteers

No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion criteria

age 21 years or older
living with or sharing cooking facilities with the care recipient
providing care for a relative with a medical diagnosed Alzheimer disease or related disorder, vascular dementia or behavior variant frontotemporal dementia for at least 4 hours per day for at least the past 6 months

Exclusion criteria

Involvment in another caregiver intervention
actual psychiatric diagnosis of mental illness
illness that would prevent 6 months of study participation
forthcoming institutionalization of the person being cared.

Other requirements were logistic, including having a telephone, planning to remain in the geographic area for at least 6 months, and competency in German.