Stress-Busting Program for Caregivers of Patients With Neruological Diseases

Parkinson's Disease Clinical Trial

Official title:

Stress-Busting Program for Caregivers of Patients With Neurological Diseases

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT00122174
• Other study ID #: NRI 01-006
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: July 18, 2005
• Last updated: April 6, 2015
• Start date: July 2004
• Est. completion date: June 2006

Study information

• Verified date: January 2007
• Source: VA Office of Research and Development
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: United States: Federal Government
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Although family caregivers perform an incredibly valuable service for their relatives and the formal health care system, they do so at a considerable cost to themselves both emotionally and physically. Effective stress management techniques can: 1) help to decrease the caregivers' feelings of burden and stress; 2) improve the emotional and physical health of caregivers; and 3) empower caregivers to gain control of their lives.

Description:

The overall goal of this randomized clinical trial is to determine the effectiveness of a stress-busting program (SBP) for caregivers of patients with chronic neurological diseases including stroke, Alzheimer's disease, multiple sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease. Specific research objectives include: 1) Prospectively determine the effects of a SBP compared to a standard support group (SSG) on quality of life and immune response in caregivers of patients with chronic neurological diseases. Subjects will be tested at baseline, at completion of 4 and 8 weeks of SBP or SSG, and at 2- and 4-month follow up sessions. 2) Determine subjects' relaxation response as well as their response to acute laboratory stressors using bioinstrumentation. Muscle tension, electrodermal response, skin temperature, blood volume pulse, and heart rate will be measured. Subjects will be tested at baseline, at completion of 4 and 8 weeks of a SBP or SSG, and at 2- and 4-month follow up sessions. 3) Compare the effectiveness of SBP or SSG for adult children caregivers as compared to spousal caregivers based on quality of life measurements, immune parameters, and relaxation response. The proposed multimodal SBP will focus on a variety of approaches based on cognitive behavioral and relaxation response theories. SBP will consist of a 8-week program with 1�-hour sessions per week. The setting will be an educational support group with topics related to stress, stress and challenges of caregiving, depression, coping strategies, positive thinking, and taking time for oneself. In addition, subjects will be taught simple relaxation strategies that they can practice at home. Outcomes will be measured using psychosocial instruments as well as state-of-the science technology including bioinstrumentation and immune parameters to measure biological responses. Follow up testing will be done 2 and 4 months after the end of the SBP or SSG to determine the long-term effectiveness of the intervention.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 50
• Est. completion date: June 2006
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: Both
• Age group: N/A and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

The primary caregiver of an individual with a neurological disease. Able to read and converse in English.

Exclusion Criteria:

Presently participating in an ongoing support group related to the neruological disease.

Study Design

Allocation: Non-Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Single Group Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Nervous System Diseases
• Neurological Disorders
• Parkinson Disease
• Parkinson's Disease
• Psychological Adaptation

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Stress Busting Program for family caregivers

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	South Texas Health Care System, San Antonio, TX	San Antonio	Texas

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
VA Office of Research and Development

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Questionnaires assessing levels of stress, burden, depression, health, sense of coherence and coping resources; bio-assessment of stress and relaxation, and immune assays. All measures will be taken at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, 16 weeks, and 32 weeks.			No
Secondary	Qualitative data resulting from pre and post intervention interviews.			No