A Ten-Week Online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy Intervention for Family Caregivers of People With Dementia
Purpose
The randomized controlled trial aims to assess effects of a coach-guided ten-week online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention on distressed family caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) compared to the control group. A total of 64 family caregivers of PwD who meet the inclusion criteria will be recruited and randomized to either the intervention group or the control group. Exploratory hypotheses are that the ACT group will show decreases in caregivers' psychological distress and burden and improvements in psychological quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities at posttest and 3-month follow-up, compared to the control group.
Condition
- Psychological Distress
Eligibility
- Eligible Ages
- Over 18 Years
- Eligible Genders
- All
- Accepts Healthy Volunteers
- No
Inclusion Criteria
- community-dwelling adults (age 18 or over) who are currently taking the primary responsibility for the care of a relative with dementia living in the community - having at least mild depression as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ)-9 - having a computer or a smartphone with the internet access at home and - being able to provide informed consent
Exclusion Criteria
- having cognitive, physical, or sensory deficits or language barriers (non-English communicator) that impede study participation - having psychiatric hospitalizations or diagnoses of mental illness in the previous two years - taking antipsychotic or anticonvulsant medication at the time of recruitment - considering or planning to place family members of PwD in a nursing home within 6 months or - having the possibility of study dropouts due to medical conditions of caregivers (e.g., surgery that may affect mental health) and their relatives with dementia (e.g., conditions that may impede study participation due to frequent hospitalization or death)
Study Design
- Phase
- N/A
- Study Type
- Interventional
- Allocation
- Randomized
- Intervention Model
- Parallel Assignment
- Primary Purpose
- Treatment
- Masking
- Double (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Arm Groups
| Arm | Description | Assigned Intervention |
|---|---|---|
|
Experimental Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) group |
10 weekly ACT sessions individually guided by a trained coach through Zoom videoconferencing with psychoeducation materials provided |
|
|
Sham Comparator Psychoeducation control group |
Care as usual with psychoeducation materials provided |
|
Recruiting Locations
Birmingham, Alabama 35294
More Details
- Status
- Recruiting
- Sponsor
- University of Alabama at Birmingham
Detailed Description
The randomized controlled trial aims to assess effects of a coach-guided online acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention on distressed family caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) compared to the control group. A total of 64 family caregivers of PwD who meet the inclusion criteria will be recruited and randomized to either the intervention group or the control group. Caregivers assigned to the intervention group will receive individual ACT sessions guided by a trained coach for one hour per week over 10 weeks through Zoom videoconferencing with supplemental psychoeducation materials provided. Caregivers assigned to the control group will receive care as usual with psychoeducation materials provided during the study period. Outcomes regarding caregivers' mental health will be collected at three time points (i.e., pretest, posttest, and 3-month follow-up) and compared between groups over time. Exploratory hypotheses are that the ACT group will show decreases in caregivers' psychological distress and burden and improvements in psychological quality of life and engagement in meaningful activities at posttest and 3-month follow-up, compared to the control group.