This pilot study will evaluate the feasibility of implementing an intervention in the home setting that is specifically designed to coach and mentor caregivers as they assist individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementia (ADRD) who have fractured a hip to perform everyday activities and engage in more physical activity.
Prior research by the Baltimore Hip Studies (BHS) has shown that it is possible to improve function, increase physical activity, and improve behavioral symptoms among long term care residents with ADRD and to effectively coach and mentor caregivers through a care practice, Function Focused Care for the Cognitively Impaired (FFC-CI), that focuses on having caregivers teach, cue, model, and assist cognitively impaired individuals to perform functional tasks and engage in physical activity, while minimizing behavioral symptoms. This study will determine if a revised intervention, Function Focused Care for the Cognitively Impaired: Hip Care at Home (aka, Hip Care at Home), can be implemented in a home setting. The Hip Care at Home intervention will include an initial evaluation of the hip fracture participant, caregiver, and home setting by an interdisciplinary care team including a physical therapist (PT), occupational therapist (OT), and a coach (nurse or nurse's aide) trained in the function focused care (FFC) approach. The FFC coach will then work with the primary informal (family or friend, unpaid) caregiver to integrate the recommended environmental, behavioral, and physical interventions into the home setting, with weekly visits.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
1
This is a graduated, functionally-based intervention, paired with caregiver interactions for enhancing functional abilities. Caregivers are encouraged to have the fracture participant actively participate in their own activities of daily living and incorporate functional activities into daily routines. An intervention coach will discuss care related challenges with the caregiver to identify dependency problems, motivate the caregiver to help foster independence in the care recipient, and provide guidance in addressing behavioral symptoms associated with cognitive limitation that may occur during caregiving. The coach is guided by interventions designed by PTs, OTs, and a nurse practitioner expert in FFC. The intervention includes 1) initial assessment of participant, caregiver, and environment, 2) coaching and mentoring of caregivers regarding use of effective motivational strategies, 3) goal setting, and 4) on-going motivation and evaluation.
University of Maryland
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Feasibility of the Intervention
Data regarding feasibility will include numbers of participants contacted, enrolled, drop-outs/withdrawals, and completing intervention, adverse events, and total time to implement intervention.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Treatment Fidelity
Treatment fidelity of the intervention will include recording of adherence and logs of intervention tasks and problems by the interdisciplinary care team and FFC coach regarding barriers to implementation of the intervention and open-ended interviews with caregivers about their experiences with the intervention.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Physical Activities of Daily Living (PADLs) - fracture participant outcome
Physical activities of daily living (PADLs) assess the fracture participant's receipt of assistance in 15 PADLs with an instrument whose structure is similar to Jette's Functional Status Index and incorporates activities from the Older Americans Resources and Services (OARS) Instrument PADL scale and those used by Cummings et al.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADLs) - fracture participant outcome
Instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) are measured by 7 items from the OARS.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) - fracture participant outcome
Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB) will be used to assess timed physical performance of balance, gait, strength, and endurance. Walking speed over 3 meters and a single timed chair rise without using arms will also be assessed.
Time frame: 8 weeks
MotionWatch to Monitor Physical Movement - fracture participant outcome
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A MotionWatch manufactured by CamNtech Ltd., a compact, lightweight, body-worn activity monitoring device, will be placed on the wrist of the fracture participant at each measurement interview (baseline and follow-up) and removed 5 days later by study personnel. The MotionWatch is intended to monitor limb or body movements during daily living and sleep and may be used to document physical movement associated with applications in physiological monitoring.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS) - fracture participant outcome
Global cognition will be assessed using the Modified Mini-Mental State Examination (3MS), which also be used to describe severity of ADRD. This measure will be used to describe the extent of the cognitive impairment in people with ADRD in the sample and selecting a comparison group from existing data.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) - fracture participant outcome
Behavioral and affective outcomes will examine the impact on caregiver rated behavioral symptoms of ADRD using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), which includes items on 10 behavioral disturbances: delusions, hallucinations, dysphoria, anxiety, agitation/aggression, euphoria, disinhibition, irritability/lability, apathy, and aberrant motor activity. These are all rated by the caregiver.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) - fracture participant outcome
The Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia (CSDD) was specifically developed to assess signs and symptoms of major depression in patients with dementia. Caregivers will be interviewed on each of the 19 items on the scale and instructed to base her/his report on observations of the fracture participant's behavior during the week prior to the interview.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Adverse Events
Falls and other adverse events, including hospitalization, nursing home placement, and death will be recorded throughout the study.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Improvement in Knowledge of FFC - caregiver outcome
Knowledge of FFC will be assessed using the Knowledge of Function and Behavior Focused Care Activities Test after the information is presented and again at end of study.
Time frame: 2 weeks and 8 weeks after the start of the intervention
Self-Efficacy for Functional and Physical Activities - caregiver outcome
Self-Efficacy for Functional and Physical Activities is a 10-question survey to the caregiver about their confidence in their ability to encourage the hip fracture participant to undertake difference activities of daily living independently. Responses are either 'Yes' or 'No'.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Outcomes Expectations for Function and Physical Activity - caregiver outcome
Outcomes Expectations for Function and Physical Activity is a 9-item survey given to caregivers about the extent to which they agree that with statements about caregiving and care recipient independence.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Improvement in Performance of FFC - caregiver outcome
Performance of FFC care will be assessed using the Function Focused Care Behavior Checklist. Observations will be done by the FFC coach in the home setting as part of the regular weekly intervention visits at 3 weeks and 6 weeks after the start of intervention. Immediate feedback will be provided to the caregiver following the observed care interactions (e.g., positive reinforcement for function focused care will be provided or information about missed opportunities for function focused care to be provided) and the FFC coach will work toward immediate increased integration of the recommended interventions during routine care.
Time frame: 3 weeks and 6 weeks after the start of the intervention
Zarit Burden Interview - caregiver outcome
Caregiver burden will be assessed using the Zarit Burden Interview, a 22-item scale answered by caregivers, response options ranging from 0 (Never) to 4 (Nearly Always). Factors capture personal strain and role strain.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) - caregiver outcome
Caregiver depressive symptoms will be measured using the 20-item version of the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D). Possible scores range from 0-60.
Time frame: 8 weeks
Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I)
The Falls Efficacy Scale International (FES-I) will be used to assess fear of falling in fracture participants and fear of falling in caregivers for themselves and their care recipients.
Time frame: 8 weeks