Caring for a person living with dementia can be stressful, and many family caregivers report limited access to effective educational resources for managing dementia-related behaviors and caregiver stress. This study will evaluate a learning-based educational intervention called structured retrieval practice (SRP), which is designed to improve long-term learning by encouraging repeated recall of information with feedback. Informal dementia caregivers will be randomly assigned to learn caregiving and self-care strategies using either SRP or a traditional reading-based educational approach. Participants will be assessed on their knowledge, confidence in caregiving skills, stress levels, and perceptions of dementia-related behavioral symptoms over multiple follow-up periods. The study will also examine whether the SRP intervention is feasible and acceptable for caregivers in real-world settings.
Caring for someone with dementia is often associated with high levels of stress, particularly when caregivers lack knowledge about how to manage behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD). Although educational resources for dementia caregivers are widely available, many are not designed using evidence-based learning principles that support long-term retention and application of information. Structured retrieval practice (SRP) is a learning strategy that enhances durable learning by requiring individuals to actively recall information over time while receiving corrective feedback. This study is a longitudinal randomized controlled trial comparing an SRP-based educational intervention to a traditional reading-based education control condition. Informal caregivers of individuals living with dementia will be randomly assigned to one of two parallel arms. Both groups will receive educational content focused on managing dementia-related behavioral symptoms, coping strategies, and caregiver self-care; however, the format of instruction will differ by condition. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, and at 2-day, 2-week, and 2-month follow-up time points. Primary outcomes include caregiver knowledge retention, caregiving self-efficacy, perceived stress, and caregiver-reported severity of dementia-related behavioral symptoms. In addition, the study will evaluate intervention feasibility, acceptability, and adherence using self-report measures and backend program usage data. Data will be collected either remotely or in person, depending on participant preference. The findings from this study will inform the development of evidence-based educational approaches that may be integrated into existing caregiver education programs and digital tools to better support families caring for individuals with dementia.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
SINGLE
Enrollment
65
The structured retrieval practice intervention is an educational learning approach designed to support durable knowledge retention through repeated active recall of information with corrective feedback. Caregivers will engage in retrieval-based learning activities focused on dementia symptom management, coping strategies, and self-care. Learning activities will be spaced over time, and participants will receive immediate feedback to support learning and retention.
The reading-based education control condition consists of caregiver educational materials presented in a traditional reading format. Participants will review written information covering dementia-related behavioral symptoms, coping strategies, and caregiver self-care. Materials will be matched in content to the structured retrieval practice condition but will not include active retrieval or feedback components.
Virginia Wesleyan University
Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States
RECRUITINGCaregiver Knowledge Retention
Caregiver knowledge retention will be assessed using a researcher-developed multiple-choice assessment designed to measure factual and applied knowledge related to dementia symptom management and caregiver stress management. The assessment will consist of 64 items written at or below an 8th-grade reading level and tailored to each participant's selected learning content. Scores will reflect the total number of items answered correctly, with higher scores indicating greater knowledge retention.
Time frame: Baseline; 2 days post-intervention; 2 weeks post-intervention; 2 months post-intervention
Caregiver Self-Efficacy
Caregiver self-efficacy will be measured using the Revised Scale for Caregiving Self-Efficacy (RSCSE). The RSCSE is a validated self-report instrument assessing caregivers' confidence in managing stress, responding to disruptive behaviors, and controlling upsetting thoughts. The measure includes three subscales, each consisting of five items rated on a 0% to 100% confidence scale. Subscale scores will be summed to create composite indices, with higher scores indicating greater caregiving self-efficacy.
Time frame: Baseline; 2 days post-intervention; 2 weeks post-intervention; 2 months post-intervention
Caregiver Perceived Stress
Caregiver perceived stress will be assessed using the 10-item Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10), a widely used self-report measure of perceived stress. Participants rate items on a 5-point Likert scale based on the frequency of stress-related experiences in the past month. Total scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress.
Time frame: Baseline; 2 days post-intervention; 2 weeks post-intervention; 2 months post-intervention
Caregiver-Reported Dementia-Related Behavioral Symptoms
Caregiver perceptions of dementia-related behavioral and psychological symptoms will be assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q). Caregivers will indicate the presence and severity of symptoms across multiple behavioral domains. Composite scores will be calculated to reflect overall symptom presence and symptom severity, with higher scores indicating greater perceived symptom burden.
Time frame: Baseline; 2 days post-intervention; 2 weeks post-intervention; 2 months post-intervention
Intervention Acceptability and Satisfaction
Participant satisfaction and acceptability will be assessed using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ-8), an 8-item self-report measure of satisfaction with health and educational interventions. Items are rated on a 4-point Likert scale, with higher scores indicating greater satisfaction and acceptability.
Time frame: Immediately after completion of the intervention session.
Intervention Adherence
Intervention adherence will be assessed using backend program usage data capturing participants' completion of intervention sessions and engagement with assigned learning activities. Adherence metrics will reflect the amount of intervention content completed and exposure to the intended learning schedule.
Time frame: During intervention period
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