The goal of this study is to enroll caretakers of patients with decompensated cirrhosis to determine if written emotional disclosure or resilience training interventions reduce distress and burden among primary informal caregivers. Caretakers that meet eligibility will complete baseline assessments in person, or if necessary, over the phone and be randomized to be in one of three arms of this study. Materials specific to each study arm will be mailed to the caretakers home along with instructions. Overall, the study will take approximately 2 months and a qualitative interview will also be completed around 3-6 months post-baseline.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
87
Participants will write five stories (days 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20) about an assigned topic relating to their experiences as a caregiver of someone with advanced liver disease. Rules for the exercise will be provided in an instructions page. Additionally, baseline and outcome measures will be completed.
Participants will write three things that went well at the end of their day (before going to sleep), and what was their role in bringing them. These will be done about every three days (days 8, 11, 14, 17 and 20) for 2 weeks at home. Rules for the exercise will be provided in an instructions page. Additionally, baseline and outcome measures will be completed.
Participants will complete baseline and outcome assessments and no intervention will be conducted.
The University of Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States
Change in burden of caregivers measured using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI -12)
The short form of the ZBI is a validated short 12-item questionnaire measuring perceived burden associated with care giving. Participants rate each item on a 5-point scale ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (nearly always) the range of possible score is 0 (less burden) to 48 (more burden).
Time frame: At baseline and then at 4 week and 8 weeks
Change in Visual Analogue Score (VAS)
The VAS is a measure of health related quality of life (HRQOL). It is a scale from 0 to 100 where 0 represents the worst imaginable health state and 100 represents the best imaginable health state.
Time frame: At baseline and then at 4 week and 8 weeks
Change in Distress Thermometer (DT)
This is a single-item self-report measure of distress. The DT is presented as a 10-point scale in a thermometer format and asks to rate how distressed one felt in the previous week from 0 (not distressed) to 10 (extremely distressed).
Time frame: At baseline and then at 4 week and 8 weeks
Change in Caregiver Captivity Index (CCI)
A three-item self-report measure of how much (very much, somewhat, just a little, not at all) a caregiver feels like a captive, or being an unwilling or involuntary incumbent of a caregiver role. Scored on a scale of 4-12 with higher scores being worse
Time frame: At baseline and then at 4 week and 8 weeks
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