GamePlan4Care: Online Support for Family Caregivers (GP4C)
Dementia
About this trial
This is an interventional treatment trial for Dementia focused on measuring Caregiving, Skills-training
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria:
- Must be age 18 years or older
- Providing at least 8 hours of weekly care and/or supervision (on average) for a friend or family member with a self-reported diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia. Family will be subjectively determined by the caregiver to enable a broader definition of a" "family" member often found in minority communities (e.g., a person not related by blood but who serves in the role of an "aunt" or "grandchild").
- The family member, named as the care recipient (CR) in this proposal, must be diagnosed with AD/ADRD (self-report from the caregiver accepted) and is experiencing signs of dementia as verified by the family caregiver on the AD8 informant interview. A score of 2 or greater is the inclusion criteria.
- Must demonstrate access to a home computer with internet access to research staff and report using the computer to access the internet at least three times per week, on average.
- English-speaking caregivers
- Must reside within the recruitment area (Target counties within Texas: Bastrop, Bell, Blanco, Burnet, Caldwell, Coryell, Fayette, Hamilton, Hays, Lampasas, Lee, Llano, Milam, Mills, San Saba, Travis, Williamson)
Exclusion Criteria:
- Current participation in another caregiving evidence-based program
- Previous participation in usability testing for current system development
Sites / Locations
- Alzheimer's TexasRecruiting
Arms of the Study
Arm 1
Arm 2
Experimental
Active Comparator
GamePlan4Care (GP4C)
Resources4Care (R4C)
Participants in this arm will have access to full functionality and content of the online system GamePlan4Care (GP4C) including educational resources, skills training, and support tailored to their unique caregiving needs. Additional individualized feedback will be automatically generated based on responses to online questions and will include links to relevant site educational/skill-building content. Participants will be assigned a Dementia Care Specialist who will facilitate caregiver interactions with the online material and provide skills training via telephone or web-video conference. Study participants assigned to GP4C will receive 9 automated emails and 4 phone calls over a 6-month period.
Participants in this arm will receive access to Resources4Care (R4C), a feature-limited version GamePlan4Care system. R4C will serve as an online hub for articles and videos about Alzheimer's disease and dementia. Educational topics will included information on: 1) Alzheimer's Disease & Dementia, 2) Caregiving, 3) Caregiver Stress and 4) Home Safety. R4C will present a page on each topic with active links to two additional online sources on the same topic. Study participants assigned to R4C will receive two emails from their DCS encouraging the caregiver to review specific education materials. Each email will be followed by brief "check-in" calls (15-min each) at three months and five months after randomization.