A Psychosocial Intervention for Bereaved Spousal Caregivers of Persons With Dementia

Dementia Clinical Trial

Official title:

A Psychosocial Intervention for Bereaved Spousal Caregivers of Persons With Dementia: Adapting the "Finding Balance" Tool

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT02672800
• Other study ID #: 15-313
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: March 2016
• Est. completion date: March 2018

Study information

• Verified date: May 2018
• Source: University of Saskatchewan
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a writing intervention (Reclaiming Yourself), intended to facilitate bereavement for spousal caregivers whose partners died with dementia.

Description:

The current research is part 3 of a multi-phase project, whose purpose was to examine the experience of bereavement for spousal caregivers to persons with dementia. Based on spouses' shared experiences and the input of experts in the field (i.e. bereavement/dementia researchers, health care providers), an existing writing intervention called the Finding Balance tool was adapted from the context of cancer bereavement to that of dementia.

The purpose of this third phase is to test this adapted writing intervention (Reclaiming Yourself) with bereaved spouses of persons with dementia. Participants will be randomly assigned into one of two groups: treatment (who will receive the tool); and control (who will not be offered the tool until a later stage). The feasibility and acceptability of the intervention will be assessed, as well as the degree to which it facilitated participants' bereavement, ability to find balance, and psychological health.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 16
• Est. completion date: March 2018
• Est. primary completion date: December 2017
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 60 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• bereaved for three months or longer

• were a caregiver for their spouse with advanced dementia

• English speaking

• willing and able to share their bereavement experience

Exclusion Criteria:

• those with other than a spousal relationship to the person with dementia

• spousal caregivers of persons with another terminal disease

• those bereaved less than 3 months

• those unable to provide consent

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Bereavement
• Dementia

Intervention

Behavioral:
• the Reclaiming Yourself tool
This tool is a behavioural writing intervention, intended to facilitate bereavement for spousal caregivers of persons with dementia

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Canada	University of Saskatchewan	Saskatoon	Saskatchewan

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University of Saskatchewan

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Canada, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Inventory of Daily Widowed Life (IDWL)- change at 1 and 2 months post-intervention	Measure of finding balance in bereavement	The measure will be administered pre-intervention, 1 month following the introduction of the intervention, and 2 months following the introduction of the intervention
Primary	Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale- Revised (CESD-R)- change at 1 and 2 months post-intervention	Measure of depressive symptoms	The measure will be administered pre-intervention, 1 month following the introduction of the intervention, and 2 months following the introduction of the intervention
Primary	Texas Revised Inventory of Grief, Present Feelings- change at 1 and 2 months post-intervention	Measure of grief	The measure will be administered pre-intervention, 1 month following the introduction of the intervention, and 2 months following the introduction of the intervention
Secondary	Semi-structured qualitative evaluation interviews	Measure of the feasibility and acceptability of the intervention	Post intervention (after 1 month)