Support Via Technology: Living and Learning With Advancing FTD

Frontotemporal Dementia Clinical Trial

— STELLA-FTD  

Official title:

Support Via Technology: Living and Learning With Advancing FTD

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT05338710
• Other study ID #: 22721
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Start date: January 14, 2021
• Est. completion date: March 4, 2022

Study information

• Verified date: April 2022
• Source: Oregon Health and Science University
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

Much effort over the last several decades has been devoted to developing and implementing psychoeducational interventions for family caregiving partners for those with Alzheimer's and relatedm dementias (ADRD). However, few interventions address the specific needs of care partners for those with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD).

This study tests an intervention to support family caregivers for those with FTD.

Description:

Much effort over the last several decades has been devoted to developing and implementing psychoeducational interventions for family caregiving partners for those with Alzheimer's and related dementias (ADRD). However, few interventions address the specific needs of care partners for those with frontotemporal degeneration (FTD), the most common form of dementia in adults under age 60.

Caring for a family member with FTD can affect the psychological, social, and relational health of families. Care partners for those with the disease have higher levels of burden and depression, as well as more sleep disturbances and worse financial strain than care partners for those with ADRD. Psychoeducational interventions can alleviate some of the psychological symptoms associated with dementia caregiving, but few programs have been designed for care partners for persons with FTD. Further, many of the existing programs are inaccessible for families due to distance and cost. The STELLA (Support via TEchnology: Living and Learning with Advancing dementia) intervention is designed to teach ADRD care partners strategies for managing behavioral symptoms associated with dementia. STELLA uses videoconferencing to connect care partners, in their own homes, with experienced Guides (e.g., nurses). The Guides use cognitive behavioral techniques to assist care partners in identifying and implementing strategies to reduce distressing behavioral symptoms in the person with dementia.

Our pilot work found that early versions of STELLA reduced the frequency of behavioral symptoms and care partner reactivity to them. In this study, the investigators will adapt STELLA to specifically address the needs of family care partners for persons with frontotemporal degeneration. Aim 1. Adapt STELLA to the needs of care partners for those with FTD

1. Gather FTD care partner feedback on STELLA and suggestions for tailoring STELLA for FTD

2. Adapt STELLA for FTD care partners based on end-user feedback Aim 2. Assess the feasibility, acceptability and STELLA-FTD with FTD care partners Aim 3. Assess the preliminary efficacy of STELLA-FTD on the primary outcomes: reducing the frequency of behavioral symptoms and care partner reactivity to the symptoms as measured on the Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (RMBPC).

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 16
• Est. completion date: March 4, 2022
• Est. primary completion date: March 4, 2022
• Accepts healthy volunteers: Accepts Healthy Volunteers
• Gender: All
• Age group: 18 Years to 100 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• Care Partner for family member, close friend or kin with FTD, primary progressive aphasia, progressive supranuclear palsy or other frontotemporal degenerative dementia

• Must speak English

• Must be able to see and hear the videoconference-based interactions.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Family member does not care for someone with FTD conditions.

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Aphasia, Primary Progressive
• Caregiver Burden
• Caregivers Burnout
• Frontotemporal Dementia
• Pick Disease of the Brain

Intervention

Other:
• STELLA-FTD
Behavioral intervention for caregivers for those with FTD

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
United States	Oregon Health and Science University, Layton Aging and Alzheimer's Disease Center	Portland	Oregon

Sponsors (2)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
Oregon Health and Science University	Association for Frontotemporal Degeneration

Country where clinical trial is conducted

United States, 

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Revised Memory and Behavior Problems Checklist (change is being assessed) Behavior Problems Checklist	Assesses burden, stress: Higher scores on frequency indicate more upsetting behaviors, higher scores on reactivity indicate more caregiver burden	Weeks 1 and 9 of study
Secondary	Quality of life, care partners and care recipients (change is being assessed)	Measures sense of quality of life for Care Partner; 13 items, higher scores suggest better quality of life	Weeks 1 and 9 of study
Secondary	Quality of life, care partners and care recipients (change is being assessed)	Measures sense of quality of life for person with dementia (filled out by proxy caregiver): 13 items, higher scores suggest better quality of life	Weeks 1 and 9 of study
Secondary	Family Caregiver Self efficacy scale (change is being assessed)	measures caregiver self efficacy for symptoms management and community support service use. Scale 10-100, higher scores indicating better sense of self-efficacy	Weeks 1 and 9 of study
Secondary	Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression-10-item scale (change is being assessed); score is 0 (no depression) to 30 (severe depression).	Depression in caregivers	Weeks 1 and 9 of study
Secondary	Marwit Meuser Caregiver Grief Index (change is being assessed)	Caregiver grief; Scale 18-90, higher scores=worse grief	Weeks 1 and 9 of study
Secondary	Caregiver Guilt Questionnaire (change is being assessed)	Caregiver guilt; score range 22-88, higher scores=worse guilt	Weeks 1 and 9 of study
Secondary	Contact survey	How often do caregivers contact each other?	9 weeks after study start
Secondary	Experience Survey	Caregiver assessment of program	9 weeks after study start
Secondary	Ten-item personality inventory	Measures extra/introversion (provides information about introversion/extraversion, no "good" or "bad" scores	Week 1 of study