This study asks: "what behavioral strategies are needed to help socially disconnected Hispanic/Latino caregivers with significant barriers to increasing connectedness?" This study uses a mixed methods approach to adapt a brief behavioral intervention-Social Engage psychotherapy-for use with socially disconnected Hispanic/Latino caregivers. This study is a single-arm clinical trial of Social Engage psychotherapy. We propose to enroll 10 participants for up to 8 weekly individual Social Engage psychotherapy sessions, over up to 3 months. Subjects will be aged 40 and older, and be caregivers for a community-dwelling family member with ADRD, living with (or in close proximity to) the family member with dementia, experiencing elevated caregiving distress and social disconnectedness.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
10
Participants will complete up to 8 weekly individual Social Engage psychotherapy sessions. Participants will be allotted up to 3 months to complete all sessions, a time-frame that allows for two weeks without meeting to address life stressors such as illnesses that may pop up. All sessions are provided via phone or videocall (Zoom). The first and last session are longer - up to 60 minutes if needed. Middle sessions are shorter (20-45 minutes). Engage is a stepped care psychotherapy in that the simplest strategy is taught first-action planning (a derivative of problem solving therapy)-and "barrier strategies" are added only if needed. Action plans are designed to address loneliness and social isolation in the context of caregiving demands.
University of Rochester Medical Center
Rochester, New York, United States
Change From Baseline in Loneliness at Post Intervention
The UCLA Loneliness Scale Version 3 will be used to assess self-reported loneliness. 20 items, rated as to how often the participant has felt a certain way in the prior month (e.g., "How often do you feel alone?") -- "never" (1), "rarely" (2), "sometimes" (3), or "often" (4). Higher scores indicate greater loneliness. However, some individual items must be reverse-coded so that higher total scores reflect greater loneliness (i.e., 1=4, 2=3, 3=2, 4=1). These items (e.g., "How often do you feel there are people you can turn to?") are items 1,5,6,9,10,15,16,19,20. Total scores range from 20 to 80, with higher scores representing a worse outcome (i.e., greater loneliness). Mean change in total scores (change = baseline intervention scores - post scores) will be reported.
Time frame: Baseline and 3 months
Change From Baseline in Social Functioning at Post Intervention
Satisfaction with Social Roles and Activities (PROMIS) is a computerized adaptive test (CAT). It produces T scores with a mean of 50 and standard deviation of 10. Greater scores indicate better outcomes (i.e., greater satisfaction with social role and activities). Mean change in T scores (change = post intervention scores - baseline scores) will be reported.
Time frame: Baseline and 3 months
Change From Baseline in Quality of Life: Social Relationships at Post Intervention
The World Health Organization Quality-of-Life Scale: Brief Version (WHOQOL-BREF) is a 36-item measure of several domains (physical health, psychological health, social relationships, environment) of health related quality of life. Higher scores denote higher quality of life. Items are scored on a 1-5 Likert scale. The measure is calculated by summing the point values for the questions corresponding to each domain and then transforming the scores to a 0-100 point interval for each domain. Mean change in Domain 3 (social relationships) scores (change = post intervention scores - baseline scores) will be reported.
Time frame: Baseline and 3 months
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