The research study is being conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a virtual support intervention to reduce stress and poor self-care for caregivers of persons with behavioral variant Frontotemporal Degeneration (bvFTD) compared to receiving health information alone.
Informal caregivers of persons with Frontotemporal degeneration (FTD) are an understudied population with unique needs. FTD is a common cause of young-onset dementia with no known cure. Behavioral variant FTD (bvFTD) is the most common of the FTD syndromes and involves a progressive disorder of emotional regulation and personality, and significant impairment in executive function. bvFTD caregivers face unique challenges which are particularly stressful, including young age at which the disorder appears, behavioral symptoms like apathy and disinhibition that are severe and appear early in bvFTD, and the lack of appropriate supportive services. Indeed, numerous studies have demonstrated that stress, depression and burden are higher in FTD caregivers than in any of the other ADRDs, yet caregiver interventions tested in specifically in the FTD population have been limited to a few small studies that focus on education around patient behavior management, not caregiver self-care. The research study is being conducted to evaluate the efficacy of a virtual support intervention to reduce stress and poor self-care for caregivers of persons with behavioral variant Frontotemporal Degeneration (bvFTD) compared to receiving health information alone. 30 caregivers will be randomized 1:1 to a health information: health information + health coaching group. Catered information will be delivered via tablets over 6 months with testing dispersed at baseline, 1 month, 3 months, and 6 months.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
TRIPLE
Enrollment
43
Virtual Health Coaching for You: The focus of these sessions is helping caregivers take care of themselves. These are virtual health coaching sessions by trained Health Coaches over 6 months with content based on the theoretical framework from our prior research
University of Pennsylvania, School of Nursing
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Change From Baseline in the Self-Care Inventory (SCI)
30 items scored 0-100. A higher score indicates better self-care. This theoretically-derived instrument has construct validity. The self-care confidence scale is embedded within this instrument.
Time frame: 6 months
Change From Baseline in Frontotemporal Dementia Rating Scale (FTDRS)
The FTDRS includes 30 questions covering 7 categories: behavior, outing and shopping, household chores and telephone, finances, medications, meal preparation and eating, and self care and mobility. Each question is scored on a likert scale of "never" (0) to "all the time (2). Higher scores represents more frequent symptoms. The reported scores are the mean/standard deviation for the first 7 questions (Category: Behavior).
Time frame: 6 months
Change From Baseline in Perceived Stress Scale
The Perceived Stress Scale is a 14-item instrument that provides a global rating of an individual's belief in the severity and frequency of stressful experiences during the last month. The Perceived Stress Scale includes 14 items designed to assess symptoms of stress and global measures of the degree of stress experienced in the past month. Each item is scored from 0 (never) to 4 (very often), with total sum scores ranging from 0 to 56; higher scores indicate higher perceived stress.
Time frame: 6 months
Change From Baseline in Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale (CES-D)
CES-D is a valid and reliable scale for detecting caregiver depression in dementia. The scoring is on a likert scale 0: Rarely or none of the time (less than 1 day), 1: Some or a little of the time (1-2 days), 2: Occasionally or a moderate amount of time (3-4 days), and 3: Most or all of the time (5-7 days). Higher scores represent greater depressive symptoms. Total scores can range 0 to 60. A score equal or above a 16 means a person is at risk for clinical depression.
Time frame: 6 months
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Change From Baseline in Ways of Coping Questionnaire, Short Form
This 42-item questionnaire measures the use of five different coping styles: avoidance, problem-focused, seeking social support, self-blame, and wishful thinking. The original scale has been used widely since developed by Lazarus in 1985. The short version (30 items) uses a 4-point Likert-scale response format (0 = not used to 3 = used a great deal). Scores range from 0-90 with higher scores indicating greater coping. It is reliable (alpha 0.95) and has construct validity. This instrument has been used numerous times in studies with older adult caregivers.
Time frame: 6 months
Change From Baseline in Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI)
The ZBI has been used in numerous informal dementia caregiver studies to capture burden associated with providing care to a loved one. Total scores are summed and a range is provided for little to no burden (0-21) to severe burden (61-88).
Time frame: 6 months
Change From Baseline in Neuropsychiatric Inventory
Commonly used scale to evaluate 12 common behaviors in dementia including Delusions, Hallucinations, Agitation/Aggression, Depression, Anxiety, Elation/Euphoria, Apathy/Indifference, Disinhibition, Irritability, Aberrant motor behavior, Sleep and Nighttime Behavior Disorders, Appetite and Eating Disorders. Ratings include the frequency of the occurrence of behaviors (1 = occasionally, 2 = often, 3 = frequently, 4 = very frequently), and the level of severity of behaviors (1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe). The behavioral domain total score is the product of the frequency score multiplied by the severity score for that behavior. The NPI total score is the sum of all the individual behavioral domains. Scores range from 0-144. Higher scores demonstrate greater symptoms frequency and severity.
Time frame: 6 months