N/A
N=514
Hospice Problem Solving Intervention
Hospice Informal Caregivers
Bottom Line
View on ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01444027 ↗Enrolled (actual)
514
Serious AEs
0.0%
Results posted
Nov 2017
Primary outcome: Primary: Caregiver Anxiety: Change From Baseline to Post-Intervention Exit — -0.9; -2.0; -0.7 units on a scale — p=0.002
Study Design & Population
- Study type
- Interventional
- Phase
- N/A
- Interventions
- Problem Solving Therapy (Behavioral)
- Age
- Adult, Older Adult · 18+ yrs
- Sex
- All
- Sponsor
- University of Washington
- Primary completion
- Mar 2016
Outcome Measures
| Outcome | Result | p-value |
|---|---|---|
| PRIMARY Caregiver Anxiety: Change From Baseline to Post-Intervention Exit |
-0.9; -2.0; -0.7 | 0.002 sig |
| PRIMARY Caregiver Quality of Life - Physical: Change From Baseline to Post-Intervention Exit |
-0.4; 0.2; -0.2 | 0.001 sig |
| PRIMARY Caregiver Quality of Life - Social: Change From Baseline to Post-Intervention Exit |
-0.2; 0.2; -0.4 | 0.001 sig |
| PRIMARY Caregiver Quality of Life - Emotional: Change From Baseline to Post-Intervention Exit |
-0.1; 0.4; 0.0 | 0.003 sig |
| PRIMARY Caregiver Quality of Life - Financial: Change From Baseline to Post-Intervention Exit |
0.0; 0.5; 0.0 | 0.001 sig |
Summary
In recent years, the demand for home hospice care has grown rapidly. Family members and friends who act as informal caregivers are essential to the provision of palliative care services; however, this role is not without adverse effects on the caregivers themselves. It is well documented that emotional needs of individuals caring for dying persons in their home are not well attended, and interventions aiming to provide support to informal hospice caregivers are notably lacking. In this context, problem solving therapy (PST) provides an overall coping process that fosters adaptive situational coping and behavioral competence. The investigators are conducting a randomized controlled trial to fully evaluate the PST intervention for informal hospice caregivers. Additionally, the investigators aim to evaluate how the modality of the intervention (face to face vs video) impacts its effectiveness. This investigator team is conducting a 4-year randomized trial study in which hospice caregivers will be randomly assigned to a group receiving standard hospice care with the addition of social support interactions (attention control group) or a group receiving standard hospice care with the addition of the problem solving intervention delivered face to face (intervention group 1) or a group receiving standard hospice care with the addition of the problem solving intervention delivered via video (intervention group 2). The specific aims include an assessment of the impact of PST on caregiver quality of life, problem solving ability, and caregiver anxiety.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria
- enrolled as a family/informal caregiver of a hospice patient
- 18 years or older
- with access to a standard phone line or Internet and computer access at home
- without functional hearing loss or with a hearing aid that allows the participant to conduct telephone conversations as assessed by the research staff (by questioning and observing the caregiver)
- no or only mild cognitive impairment
- speak and read English, with at least a 6th-grade education
Exclusion Criteria
- lack of phone or Internet access
Data sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT01444027). Outcome figures and adverse-event rates are extracted automatically from the registry's posted results and are provided for clinician reference, not as a substitute for the primary publication.