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.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
60
The online peer support program will entail: 1) Informational links; 2) A discussion forum (open to all participants and allowing for asynchronous contact between caregivers \& peer mentors); 3) A weekly live chat; 4) Private messaging (audio, video, and text options); and 5) "Ask-a-mentor" (A short video/blurb profiling each caregiving mentor will be posted including details such as gender, age, duration of care, relationship to care-recipient, and illness that care-recipient suffers from). Caregiving participants can then self-match to a peer mentor they feel is best-positioned to address their support needs.
Ventilator Equipment Pool (Queens University)
Kingston, Ontario, Canada
RECRUITINGChange in Positive and Negative Affect
Positive \& Negative Affect Scale (PANAS): 10 items \[Score: 10-50\]; higher scores indicate more psychological wellbeing
Time frame: Change from baseline at 12 weeks
Feasibility: Participation rate
Proportion of mentors and caregiving participants who contribute to weekly chats and discussion forums for all 12 weeks of the program
Time frame: 12 weeks
Feasibility: Participation frequency
Number of times that mentors and caregiving participants contribute to weekly chat and discussion forums over the course of 12 weeks. ).
Time frame: 12 weeks
Feasibility: Recruitment rates
Consent rate for participation (i.e. proportion of individuals approached who consent to participate)
Time frame: Through study completion, an average of 1 year
Feasibility: Attrition
Attrition rates (i.e. number of mentors and caregiving participants who participate in entire peer support program and complete required study questionnaires).
Time frame: 12 weeks
Change in Coping
Brief Coping Orientations to Problems Experienced (COPE) Inventory: 28 items representing problem and emotion-based coping. Higher scores on either subscale represent greater use of that coping style
Time frame: Change from baseline at 12 weeks
Change in Depression
) Centre for Epidemiological Studies Short Depression Scale (CES-D 10): 10 items \[Score: 0-30\]; higher scores sores indicate depression severity
Time frame: Change from baseline at 12 weeks
Change in Caregiving Impact
Caregiving Impact Scale: 14 items \[Score: 0-84\]; higher scores suggest providing care interferes with caregivers' abilities to maintain participation in valued activities
Time frame: Change from baseline at 12 weeks
Change in Mastery
Pearlin Mastery Scale: 7 items \[Score: 7-28\]; higher scores indicate a greater sense of control over life
Time frame: Change from baseline at 12 weeks
Change in Personal Gain
Personal Gain Scale: 4 items \[Score: 4-16\]; higher scores indicate caregiver discovery of inner strengths due to providing care
Time frame: Change from baseline at 12 weeks
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