The investigators developed and tested the Daily Engagement in Meaningful Activities (DEMA) intervention to improve life satisfaction and health outcomes for patients and caregivers. DEMA is a positive health focused, theoretically grounded, tailored, family-centered, multi-faceted intervention. Over 7 session, dyads work with a nurse to 1) identify meaningful activities, assess capacity, problem-solve barriers, and establish routines for engagement and 2) learn more about MCI by working through six Self-Management Toolkit topics (e.g., benefits of meaningful activity; planning the future). The investigators' purpose is to evaluate the efficacy of DEMA in a two-group randomized controlled trial with 200 patient/caregiver dyads (DEMA intervention vs. the information support (IS) attention control group).
Approximately 20% of Americans over 65 have mild cognitive impairment (MCI), defined as experiencing more memory problems than normally expected with aging, but no other symptoms of dementia such as impaired judgment or reasoning. Persons with MCI (patients) are at great risk for developing dementia (10-33% per year). Memory problem (poor executive function) diminish the patient's confidence and ability to perform meaningful and/or important activities (e.g. socialization, medication management). Deteriorating life satisfaction in patients and care partners (caregivers) is a prevalent problem due to diminished meaningful activity engagement which occurs as a result of patient frustration and embarrassment, lack of self-efficacy (confidence), and diminishing activity performance. As a result, patients experience additional negative health outcomes: 38% report depressive symptoms and anxiety. Caregivers often lack confidence to manage their own and the patient's daily challenges and meaningful activity engagement, leading to high caregiver burden, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. As a dyad, both patients and caregivers report diminished satisfaction within their communication and relationship due to disagreement about the patient's functional ability to effectively and safely perform meaningful activities. Emerging evidence indicates regular engagement in social, physical or cognitive activities can improve life satisfaction, activity performance, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and dyad communication; health outcomes are even better when the activities are self-selected and meaningful. To promote patients' and caregivers' life satisfaction and health outcomes, interventions to maximize patients' capacity for full engagement in meaningful activities are essential; yet, there is a marked absence of such empirically validated interventions. The investigators developed and tested the Daily Engagement in Meaningful Activities (DEMA) intervention to improve life satisfaction and health outcomes for patients and caregivers. DEMA is a positive health focused, theoretically grounded, tailored, family-centered, multi-faceted intervention. Over 7 session, dyads work with a nurse to 1) identify meaningful activities, assess capacity, problem-solve barriers, and establish routines for engagement and 2) learn more about MCI by working through six Self-Management Toolkit topics (e.g., benefits of meaningful activity; planning the future). The investigators' purpose is to evaluate the efficacy of DEMA in a two-group randomized controlled trial with 200 patient/caregiver dyads (DEMA intervention vs. the information support (IS) attention control group). Aim 1 (Primary Objective): Test DEMA's efficacy for improving life satisfaction in patients and their caregivers over time. Aim 2 (Secondary Objective): Over time, evaluate DEMA's efficacy for patient and caregiver to: 1. increase patient activity performance and diminish depressive symptoms and anxiety. Hypothesis 2.1: Compared to the IS group, patients receiving DEMA will have improved activity performance and decreased depressive symptoms and anxiety. 2. decrease caregivers burden, depressive symptoms, and anxiety . Hypothesis 2.2: Compared to the IS group, caregivers receiving DEMA will have decreased burden, depressive symptoms, and anxiety. Aim 3: Explore improvement in health outcomes over time in the sub-sample of patients with depressive symptoms using the (PHQ)-9 ≥ 5 at baseline) and explore the burden on caregivers when patients have PHQ-9 is \>5. Compared to the non-depressed participants: Hypothesis 3.1. Patients with depressive symptoms (scores \> 5 on PHQ-9 measured at baseline) will have improved activity performance. Hypothesis 3.2 Caregivers of patients with depressed symptoms (scores \> 5 on PHQ-9 measured at baseline) will report reduced burden. Hypotheses 3.3. Patients with depressive symptoms (scores \> 5 on PHQ-9 measured at baseline) and their caregivers randomized to DEMA will report improved: confidence to manage daily challenges, communication satisfaction, life satisfaction, relationship satisfaction, decreased depressive symptoms and anxiety.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
SUPPORTIVE_CARE
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
420
This group will receive 7 individualized sessions, 1 face-to-face session at week 1 and via 6 bi weekly telephone sessions delivered by a trained intervener. DEMA will use the principles of problem-solving therapy and consistent with the overall goals of this intervention; and will provide autonomy support, classify needs and goals, generalize manageable solutions, engage in self-selected activities under family support, and self-evaluate failure and success or renew problem-solving as needed. Each session consists: 1) MCI dyads are guided to use the principles of problem-solving therapy to review their personalized, self-selected meaningful activities and plan next steps to continue the activity, identify and establish a plan for additional activities; and 2) the intervener and dyad discuss one of the 6 topics in the Toolkit such as introducing of the intervention and meaningful activity concepts, understanding MCI, its treatments, management, resources, and planning for the future.
This group will attend 1 face-to-face meetings to receive an overview of what will happen in the study and an initial Alzheimer disease educational brochure from the Alzheimer's Association (AA). The face-to-face sessions will take place at the IADC Clinical Core clinic, Indiana University Center of Excellence of Women's Health clinic, or Indiana School of Nursing conference room that based on patient-caregiver dyad's preference. Then they will receive 6 bi weekly follow-up phone calls and have the opportunity to ask only questions related to the educational materials. After completing Time 4 data collection, the patient-caregiver dyads will receive DEMA Self-Management Tool kit package through mail.
Indiana University Alzhemier Disease Research Center
Indianapolis, Indiana, United States
Life satisfaction
The Life Satisfaction Index for the Third Age (LSITA) Scale-Short Form, is a 12-item with a 6-point response scale (ranging from "1" Strongly disagree to "6" strongly agree) (Barrett \& Murk, 2006). It is a measure of the overall construct of Life Satisfaction. It has been commonly used in older populations. Possible range of total scores is 12-72 and higher scores indicate better functioning. The total score ranges from 12 to 72.The reliability of the LSITA-SF scale was .90 (Barrett \& Murk, 2006). The scale takes about 3 minutes to complete it. The LSITA is completed by patient and caregiver separately.
Time frame: Change from Baseline Life Satisfaction at 10 days post-intervention evaluation, 3 months post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Items (PHQ-9)
Patient Health Questionnaire-9 Items (PHQ-9) is used to measure emotional function (Kroenke, Spitzer, \& Williams, 2001). The PHQ-9 contains nine questions about symptoms. It has been widely used in older populations. The depression severity levels are: The scores 0 -4 indicate none, the scores between 5 to 9 indicate mild depression; the score between 10-14 indicates moderate depression; the scores between 15 to 19 indicate moderately severe depression, the scores between 20 to 27 indicate severe depression. The internal reliability was 0.83 to 0.92 (Kroenke et al., 2001). The scale takes about 3 minutes to complete it. The PHQ-9 is completed by patient and caregiver separately.
Time frame: Change from Baseline PHQ-9 at 10 days post-intervention evaluation, 3 months post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention
The General Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7)
The General Anxiety Disorder 7-item (GAD-7), four-point Liker scale is used to measure emotional function and it contains 7 questions about anxiety (Spitzer, Kroenke, Williams, \& Lowe, 2006). It has been widely used in older populations. The GAD-7 scale score ranges from 0 to 21 and high scores indicates perceiving high level of anxiety. The internal reliability was 0.92 and test-retest reliability was 0.83 (Spitzer et al., 2006). The scale takes about 3 minutes to complete it. The GAD-7is completed by patient and caregiver separately.
Time frame: Change from Baseline GAD-7 at 10 days post-intervention evaluation, 3 months post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention
Alzheimer Disease Cooperative Study MCI-Activities of Daily Living Inventory [ADCS-MCI-ADL Scale]
The 23-item ADCS-MCI-ADL Scale has good test-retest reliability, will be utilized to assess performance functioning in MCI patients (Galasko et al., 1997; Douglas Galasko et al., 2006; Pedrosa et al., 2010). The ADCS-ADL includes 18 items from traditional basic ADL scales and 5 items from instrumental activities of daily living scales (IADL) The possible range of total scores for the ADL Scale is 0-53 and higher scores indicate better functioning. The internal reliability was .91( Galasko et al., 1997; Douglas Galasko et al., 2006; Pedrosa et al., 2010). The scale takes about 15 minutes to complete it.
Time frame: Change from Baseline ADCS-MCI-ADL at 10 days post-intervention evaluation, 3 months post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention
Relationship Assessment Scale (RAS)
The Relationship Assessment Scale is a 7-item, 5 points Likert scale designed to measure general relationship satisfaction (Graham, Kunik, Doody, \& Snow, 2005). The RAS was produces more reliable scores when administered to older individuals, older relationship, and married couples but it was intended to be applicable to a wide range of relationship types (Graham et al., 2005). Respondents answer each item using a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (low satisfaction) to 5 (high satisfaction). The total score ranges from 7 to 35.The internal reliability was .86-.87. The scale takes about 3 minutes to complete it.
Time frame: Change from Baseline RAS at 10 days post-intervention evaluation, 3 months post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention
Caregiving Outcomes Scale (COS)
The Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale (COS), a 15-item with a 7-point scale, self-report inventory, will be utilized to assess family caregiver outcomes. The scale has been used in family caregivers of those with a variety of other chronic conditions (Bakas, Champion, Perkins, Farran, \& Williams, 2006; Pressler, 2008). It is one of recommendation instruments that can be used to identify priority areas for nursing intervention designed to improve caregivers' outcomes (Bakas et al., 2006; Deeken, Taylor, Mangran, Yabroff, \& Ingham, 2003). It includes caregiver's financial well-being, level of energy, role functioning, physical functioning, and general health. The internal consistency reliability was provided alpha = .90 (Bakas et al., 2006). The scale takes about 5 minutes to complete it.
Time frame: Change from Baseline COS at 10 days post-intervention evaluation, 3 months post-intervention, and 6 months post-intervention
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