Savvy System Project

Dementia Clinical Trial

Official title:

Developing a Distance Education System to Train Savvy Caregiver Program Interventionists: Extending Access and Capacity in Community-Based Delivery of Evidence-Based Interventions

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT04060355
• Other study ID #: IRB00108423
• Secondary ID: R01AG061971
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: August 4, 2021
• Est. completion date: October 31, 2023

Study information

• Verified date: December 2023
• Source: Emory University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The study goal is to develop a web-based system that uses distance education methods and provides manuals and protocols to train, certify, and monitor the performance of interventionists to deliver the Savvy Caregiver program (Savvy), an evidence-based dementia family caregiver psychoeducation program. The system has a potential to increase the scalability of Savvy.

Description:

The number of People Living With Disability (PLWD) in the U.S. will rise from 5.7 million to 14 million by 2050, and the number of family caregivers who maintain these persons in the community will rise proportionately from 15 million at present. Several psychoeducation programs, including Savvy, have successfully ameliorated the adverse effects of caregiving, but these programs are only minimally available and accessible. The study goal is to develop a web-based system that uses distance education methods and provides manuals and protocols to train, certify, and monitor the performance of interventionists to deliver the Savvy Caregiver program (Savvy), an evidence-based dementia family caregiver psychoeducation program. The system has a potential to increase the scalability of Savvy.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 120
• Est. completion date: October 31, 2023
• Est. primary completion date: October 31, 2023
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years and older

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

Organizational Leaders

1. Able to understand and speak English

2. Affiliated with an organization serving caregivers for family members living with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias

3. 18 years or older Interventionists

1. Able to understand and speak English

2. Affiliated with a participating organization

3. 18 years or older Caregivers

1. Able to understand and speak English

2. Caregiver for a person living with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (PLWD) who is providing informal care for at least 3 hours a day. PLWD should not be bound for institutional care within the next 6 months.

3. 18 years or older

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Caregiver Burden
• Caregiver Burnout
• Dementia

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Savvy program
Caregiver program (Savvy) is an evidence-based dementia family caregiver psychoeducation program. Provided to groups of 8-12 (typically) individuals caring for family members living with Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (PLWD), Savvy employs a mechanism of action based in Social Cognitive theory to promote caregivers' solution-focused coping behaviors through the acquisition of appropriate knowledge, skills, and outlook and the enhancement of caregiving mastery.
• Semi-structured video interviews
Semi-structured video interviews will assess the preliminary efficacy of programs led by system-trained interventionists in producing anticipated outcomes in caregiver participants - reduced depression and burden and enhanced caregiving mastery. It will also focus on sense of the completeness and adequacy of the training program, including the training methods, videos, and materials

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	School of Nursing	Atlanta	Georgia

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Emory University	National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Change in Center for Epidemiologic Studies - Depression Scale (CES-D) score	The CES-D scale is a brief self-report scale designed to measure self-reported symptoms associated with depression experienced in the past week. It includes 20 items comprising six scales reflecting major facets of depression: depressed mood, feelings of guilt and worthlessness, feelings of helplessness and hopelessness, psychomotor retardation, loss of appetite, and sleep disturbance. Response options range from 0 to 3 for each item (0 = Rarely or None of the Time, 1 = Some or Little of the Time, 2 = Moderately or Much of the time, 3 = Most or Almost All the Time). Scores range from 0 to 60, with high scores indicating greater depressive symptoms.	Baseline, 12 months
Secondary	Change in Anxiety score	State-Trait Anxiety Inventory scale - 20-item 4-point Likert scale is sensitive to changes in transitory anxiety. State anxiety items include: "I am tense; I am worried" and "I feel calm; I feel secure." Trait anxiety items include: "I worry too much over something that really doesn't matter" and "I am content; I am a steady person." All items are rated on a 4-point scale (e.g., from "Almost Never" to "Almost Always"). Higher scores indicate greater anxiety.	Baseline, 12 months
Secondary	Change in Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI) score	Zarit Burden Inventory (ZBI) score is a 22-item Likert scale. Each item is a statement which the caregiver is asked to endorse using a 5-point scale. Response options range from 0 (Never) to 4 (Nearly Always). Total score is obtained by summing all items endorsed. Higher scores indicate greater perceived burden.	Baseline, 12 months
Secondary	Change in Caregiver Pearlin Mastery score	The Pearlin Mastery (PM) scale measures the extent to which an individual regards their life chances as being under their personal control rather than fatalistically ruled. Response options: 4-point Likert scale, 1,"Strongly disagree" and 4,"Strongly agree". Items are summed, yielding a range from 7 to 28. Higher scores indicate greater levels of mastery.	Baseline, 12 months
Secondary	Change in Caregiver Assessment of Behavioral Skill score	Caregiver Assessment of Behavioral Skill scale is 17-item self-report assessment of behavioral management skills	Baseline, 12 months
Secondary	Change in Revised Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist score	Revised Memory and Behavior Problem Checklist is a 22-item Likert scale that assesses patient behaviors and caregiver responses to them. The caregivers' reaction to each behavior, or the extent of distress experienced, are scored. Reactions are assessed by asking how "upsetting" the behavior was on a Likert scale of 0 to 4 (0 = Not at all, 1= a little, 2 = moderately, 3 = very much, and 4 =extremely). Frequency of behaviors are assessed based on a Likert-scale of 0 to4 (0 = never occurs, 1 = occurs infrequently and not in the last week, 2 = occurred 1-2 times in the last week, 3 = occurred 3-6 times in the last week, and 4 = occurs daily or more often). It yields a summary score - higher scores indicate greater levels of distress.	Baseline, 12 months