The purpose of this preliminary study is to examine the effects of adult day service use on subjective and physiological measures of stress in 50 Black informal caregivers for individuals with dementia (IWD). The PI of the proposed study has substantial training in primary data collection and complex-survey secondary data analysis, she also has the fundamental knowledge to investigate how sociocultural and behavioral factors can influence psychosocial stress. The proposed study will enroll participants from adult day service (ADS) nationally, to examine the effects of adult day service use on subjective and physiological measures of stress in 50 Black informal caregivers. The proposed study extends the current science on the use of ADS on subjective and physiological stress by 1) examining differential impacts of ADS specifically on subjective measures of stress for Black caregivers, 2) evaluating the impact of ADS use on physiological measures of stress among Black caregivers; and 3) examining the relationship between subjective indicators and physiological processes for Black caregivers.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
42
Self-collection of salivary biomarkers 4 times daily for 5 days, two of those days the family member with dementia has to use adult day services
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Caregiver stress as assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale
Perceived Stress Scale scores range from 0 to 40 with higher scores indicating higher perceived stress
Time frame: Baseline
Salivary cortisol levels
Saliva will be collected into sterile collection tubes and stored in participants' freezers until sampling. the test volume will be 25 µL with a sensitivity range of 0.007-3.0 µL/dl.
Time frame: Over a five day period
Salivary alpha-amylase
Saliva will be collected into sterile collection tubes and stored in participants' freezers until sampling. the test volume will be 10 µL with a sensitivity range of 0.4-400 U/mL.
Time frame: Over a five day period
Salivary Telomere length
Saliva will be collected into sterile collection tubes and stored in participants' freezers until sampling. the test volume will be 2ml
Time frame: Over a five day period
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