This research study will explore the effects of an online heart-focused breathing intervention on 20 informal caregivers of patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) over a period of two weeks.
Informal caregivers are often live-in, unpaid spouses, relatives, partners, or friends that help with a loved one's activities of daily living. As a result of caring for a person with Alzheimer's Disease (AD), many informal caregivers experience caregiver burden. The demanding physical, emotional, and financial responsibilities to care for an AD patient can be detrimental to the caregiver's health. A group of 20 men and women who consider themselves the primary caregiver of a person with AD will be recruited and enrolled into the study. Participants will be randomized into one of two study arms, (a) the modified-waitlist control arm or (b) the intervention arm. The study will explore the effects of an online heart-focused breathing intervention on heart rate variability (measured by the Welltory app on their smart device), perceived burden, stress, and quality of life in the intervention arm over a two-week period.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE
Participants will receive an online standardized HeartMath© heart-focused breathing intervention.
Arizona State University
Phoenix, Arizona, United States
Caregiver Burden
Caregiver Burden will be measured by the Zarit Burden Interview short version (12 items, 5-point Likert scale; 0= never, 4= nearly always). Score range= 0 to 48. A score of 17 or higher indicates a high level of burden.
Time frame: 2 weeks
Life Quality
Quality of Life will be measured by the Arizona Integrative Outcomes Scale (AIOS) (2-items, visual analogue scale; 0 millimeters= worst you have ever been, 100 millimeters= best you have ever been). Score range= 0 to 200. The AIOS asks participants to reflect on their sense of well-being over the past 24 hours and over the past month.
Time frame: 2 weeks
Perceived Stress
Perceived Stress will be measured by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) (10 items, 5-point Likert scale; 0= never, 4= very often). Score range= 0 to 40. The PSS has a general score by combining all item scores and reverse scoring items 4, 5, 7, and 8. The PSS has two subscales, one for perceived distress (items 1, 2, 3, 6, 9, 10) and one for perceived coping (4, 5, 7, 8). A higher general score is associated with a higher level of stress.
Time frame: 2 weeks
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