Clinical Trials Logo

Clinical Trial Summary

The current study builds on the empirical foundation of Mindful-Compassion Art Therapy (MCAT) to test its efficacy as a multicomponent, holistic, psycho-socio-spiritual intervention for supporting dementia family caregivers. MCAT is a group-based intervention that integrates mindfulness meditation and art therapy, with reflective awareness complementing emotional expression, to foster self-compassion and inner-resilience among professional caregivers. A wait-list RCT design is adopted to refine and extend the application of MCAT to empower self-care and resilience among 102 dementia family caregivers recruited via community-based dementia-care organizations in Singapore. The expected outcomes will advance theory and practice for sustainable dementia family caregiving in Singapore and around the globe.


Clinical Trial Description

Background: Dementia is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to irreversible decline in one's cognitive and functional capacity, identity, and personhood. In Singapore, the number of persons with dementia is expected to soar to 187,000 by 2050. Hence, it is imperative to render comprehensive support to dementia sufferers, and especially their family caregivers. While local initiatives have raised public awareness and developed services for dementia care, they do not adequately address the psycho-socio-spiritual needs of family caregivers, as caregiving stress can greatly impede one's mental and emotional health. International research for dementia family caregivers has thus focused on developing multicomponent interventions that accentuate holistic support to promote healthy and sustainable caregiving.

Objective and Methods: Building on the established MCAT protocol (Ho et al., 2019), this study will adopt a wait-list randomized controlled trial design to test the efficacy of the refined version of Mindful-Compassion Art Therapy for Dementia Care (MCAT-DC) among 102 dementia family caregivers in Singapore. This study aims to: 1) develop a disease-specific version of MCAT for Dementia Care (MCAT-DC); 2) assess MCAT-DC's effectiveness in reducing caregiver stress and burden; 3) assess MCAT-DC's effectiveness for reducing caregivers' depressive symptoms and psychophysiological distress, while enhancing resilience, hope, spirituality, meaning and quality-of-life; and 4) assess the feasibility and acceptability of a standardized MCAT-DC protocol for large-scale implementation.

Significance: MCAT is an effective psycho-social-spiritual intervention for reducing stress and promoting holistic wellbeing among professional caregivers. It has received wide recognition and distinction among palliative care and research communities for its clinical innovation and effectiveness. Given the robust evidence on MCAT's positive impact on professional caregivers, it is anticipated that a refined version of MCAT will have similar, if not greater, benefits for family caregivers. The study findings will form new knowledge to advance both theory and practice for sustainable dementia family caregiving in Singapore and around the globe. ;


Study Design


Related Conditions & MeSH terms


NCT number NCT04548089
Study type Interventional
Source Nanyang Technological University
Contact
Status Active, not recruiting
Phase N/A
Start date October 3, 2019
Completion date February 2022

See also
  Status Clinical Trial Phase
Recruiting NCT04936828 - Ecological Momentary Intervention for Stroke Caregivers' Psychological Support N/A
Active, not recruiting NCT05029193 - Effectiveness of Mindfulness After a Stroke N/A
Completed NCT04682535 - Daily Study of Caregiving Relationships and Health
Completed NCT04271046 - STAR Caregivers - Virtual Training and Follow-up N/A
Completed NCT04037501 - Effectiveness of a Care Management System to Reduce Unmet Needs of Informal Caregivers of People With Dementia N/A
Completed NCT04626804 - Remember Stuff: A Dyadic-focused Technology to Support Persons With Alzheimer's Disease in the Community N/A
Not yet recruiting NCT04811807 - Clinical Response of Impulsivity After Brain Stimulation in Parkinson's Disease
Completed NCT05150990 - Technology and Family Thriving Study N/A
Completed NCT05620368 - Mindfulness for Mothers of Children With Disabilities N/A
Recruiting NCT04143763 - Mobile Message Intervention for Stroke Caregivers' Psychological Support N/A
Completed NCT04150055 - mHealth Mindfulness for Dementia Caregivers N/A
Enrolling by invitation NCT04250103 - Home-based Longitudinal Investigation of the Multidisciplinary Team Integrated Care
Recruiting NCT04901637 - Musculoskeletal Problems in Caregivers of Stroke Survivors
Recruiting NCT04861610 - Mindfulness-Based Intervention for Caregivers of Frail Older Chinese Adults N/A
Completed NCT06049043 - Testing Preliminary Effectiveness of a CHW Training Program to Support African American and Latino Male Caregivers N/A
Completed NCT04394260 - Equality in Caregiving: Facilitating Caregiver Mastery Among LGBT Caregivers of PLWD
Recruiting NCT04627662 - Using Technology to Support Care Partners for Persons With Alzheimer's Disease: Tele-STELLA N/A
Completed NCT04648098 - Effect of Post-stroke Discharge Training N/A
Completed NCT04838197 - Understanding Caregiver Burden for Hip and Knee Replacement Surgery Patients
Completed NCT04335110 - Assessing Acceptability, Cost, and Efficacy of STELLA-Support Via Technology N/A