Primary Care Screening and Intervention for Caregiving Assessment and Support for Patients With Dementia: Technology-Based Intervention Usability and Pilot Testing
Weill Medical College of Cornell University
Summary
This research project has three main goals: (1) To create a new screening tool that helps primary care doctors spot signs of neglect in older adults with dementia. (2) To design a support program that can be delivered both in person and through a mobile app on Android phones. (3) To run a clinical trial with three groups of participants to find out how effective the screening tool is on its own, and how effective it is when combined with the support program-compared to standard care. This current phase of the project focuses on parts of goals 1 and 2, as described below.
Description
Elder abuse is common and has serious health consequences but is under-recognized and under-reported. Older adults with dementia are at much higher risk of mistreatment than other older adults, and the risk of mistreatment has been shown to be greater with increasing severity of dementia. This mistreatment is usually perpetrated by caregivers. Screening for elder mistreatment and initiation of intervention in primary care clinics may be helpful, but few evidence-based tools or strategies exist. As few tools exist that may be effectively used in a busy clinical setting, evidence of the impact…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 21+ years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria: * 21 years old or older * Provides care for a patient at the Center on Aging who meets the following criteria: * Patient is at least 65 years old * Patient has diagnosed dementia * Patient requires assistance with at least 1 ADL * Self-identifies as primary informal caregiver for an older adult * Provides at least 8 hours per week of direct care (may include logistics, oversight, observation, as well as hands-on care, but must include at least some in-person assistance) * Can read and speak English at a 6th grade level or above * Not blind or deaf * No active plan to disen…
Interventions
- BehavioralSIRENS
The SIRENS intervention is a technology intervention designed specifically for caregivers of those with dementia, providing them with easy access to expert-reviewed information and helpful resources. The content includes take-home messages summarizing the main points discussed and a goal-setting feature that encourages the care givers to establish small, actionable goals.
Location
- Weill Cornell MedicineNew York, New York