Clinical Research Directory

Online FBT-DBT Caregiver Intervention for Caregivers of Individuals With Anorexia Nervosa

Anorexia nervosa (AN) is a severe psychiatric disorder characterized by a chronic and relapsing course. Caregivers of individuals with AN often experience substantial caregiving burden, emotional distress, and impairment in family functioning due to their ongoing responsibilities in meal supervision, treatment support, and symptom management. Despite the critical role of caregivers in treatment and recovery, evidence-based interventions specifically targeting caregiver burden remain limited in China. This study aims to develop and evaluate an online intervention integrating Family-Based Treatment (FBT) and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) for caregivers of individuals with AN. FBT emphasizes empowering caregivers to support nutritional rehabilitation and recovery, whereas DBT provides skills in emotion regulation, validation, and effective communication. The integration of these approaches may help caregivers reduce distress, improve caregiving skills, and enhance family functioning. This study will employ a randomized controlled trial design. A total of 80 primary caregivers of individuals with AN will be recruited and randomly assigned to either an online FBT-DBT intervention group or an online supportive psychological intervention group. Both interventions will be delivered in a group format over 12 weeks. Assessments will be conducted at baseline, 4 weeks, 8 weeks, post-intervention (12 weeks), and at 1-month and 3-month follow-up. The primary outcome will be caregiver burden. Secondary outcomes will include psychological distress, negative emotional experiences, and the impact of eating disorder symptoms on the family. The study aims to determine the effectiveness of the online FBT-DBT intervention in reducing caregiver burden and psychological distress and to evaluate whether it provides greater benefits than supportive psychological intervention. Findings may contribute to the development of accessible and evidence-based caregiver interventions for families affected by AN in China.

Examining the Effectiveness of Ergonomics and Exercise Training in Caregivers

Family and formal caregivers of partially or fully dependent individuals repeatedly perform physically demanding tasks such as lifting, transferring, repositioning, and hygiene care. These tasks increase biomechanical loading and place caregivers at high risk of musculoskeletal complaints, which in turn increase perceived caregiver burden, burnout, and fatigue. Interventions for this population have most often been limited to information leaflets or theoretical instruction, and the active exercise component has usually been absent. Furthermore, teaching safe transfer techniques alone may be insufficient when caregivers lack the muscle strength, trunk (core) stability, and flexibility required to perform those techniques.

I-CARE Rural Pilot: Intervention for Rural-Dwelling Dementia Caregivers

The purpose of this study is to assess feasibility and to estimate efficacy of our app "Brain CareNotes" for dementia caregivers who reside in a rural setting (as defined by RUCA codes 4 through 10). The Brain CareNotes app is designed to reduce informal caregiver burden of those caring for individuals with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) of individuals with ADRD. The study will enroll up to 60 rural caregivers of community-dwelling individuals living with ADRD. Caregivers will be randomized to use the Brain CareNotes app or an attention control education-only app for six months, with usage reminders.

I-CARE 2: Mobile Telehealth to Reduce Alzheimer'S-related Symptoms in Hispanic Individuals

This study is a randomized, controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate usability and acceptability, and met and unmet needs from a caregiver intervention app, Brain CareNotes, among unpaid Hispanic caregivers of patients with dementia. Brain CareNotes provides support for management of the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) displayed by care recipients. Over 10 months, the trial will enroll 40 Hispanic caregivers of community-dwelling patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD). Caregivers will be randomized to use the Brain CareNotes app or an attention control education-only app for 12 months, with usage reminders.

Caregivers Preparing for Their Own Health Care Emergency

The proposed research will develop and test an online Emergency Preparedness Toolkit to help caregivers prepare for their own unexpected health events. Caregivers of persons with dementia often ignore their own health needs as their primary focus is the care of the person with dementia. This can lead to a caregiver delaying their own care and subsequently emergent health events. The Emergency Preparedness Toolkit provides guidance to the caregiver as to how to identify and transfer care to a standby caregiver. The goal is to provide a caregiver with the security and comfort that the person with dementia will be well cared for while they care for their own health needs.

SAGE LEAF 2: An Online Program to Reduce Dementia Caregiver Burden

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if the SAGE LEAF (Social Augmentation of self-Guided Electronic delivery of the Life Enhancing Activities for Family caregivers) online positive emotion skill-building program delivered through Caregiver Serving Organizations can help family caregivers of individuals with dementia cope with stress. The main questions it aims to answer are: * How does SAGE LEAF affect positive emotion, caregiver burden, loneliness, and depression for family caregivers? * What are the challenges and successes when rolling out an online program in partnership with Caregiver Serving Organizations? Participants will complete the 8-week online SAGE LEAF intervention as well as two survey assessments, one before the intervention and one after.

Improving Self-Care of Caregivers of Adults in Homecare With Heart Failure and Cognitive Impairment

This RCT design will enroll 256 informal caregivers (spouse/partner or child) of HHC patients with HF/CI and 60 patients with HF and mild to moderate CI (60 dyads). After collecting baseline data, we will block randomize the caregivers 1:1 to the ViCCY intervention or comparator group, stratifying randomization by caregiver sex (male/female), relationship (spouse/partner or child), and race (white/other)- factors known to influence caregiving burden, perceived stress, and receptivity to the intervention. We will encourage caregivers to use their own devices but provide tablet devices with wireless network access if needed. The intervention group will receive 10 sessions of ViCCY over 6 months.

Lived Experience Narratives in Dementia

The Lived Experience Narratives in Dementia (LEND) research programme involves five work packages (WP). WP1 explores how people living with dementia use narratives and how narratives can impact them. Findings will support the development of LEND theory. WP 2-3 focus on developing the digital Online LEND Intervention, assessing its usability and acceptability, and conducting a feasibility study within NHS memory assessment and community services. Activities across the first three WPs include interviews, focus groups, user-testing sessions, engagement evaluation interviews, and a two-arm randomised feasibility trial using a range of outcome measures. Findings from this stage will inform refinement of the intervention and determine the feasibility of progressing to a future randomised controlled trial (RCT) of the Online LEND Intervention. WP4 is the Online LEND Intervention two-arm RCT. WP5 involves dissemination. The protocol for WP4 and 5 have not yet been developed and rely on results from WP1-3.

Penn State Emergency Medicine CarES: Care-partner Evaluation and Sourcing in the Emergency Department

Care partners of people living with dementia often experience ongoing stress and unmet support needs. This study evaluates the feasibility of a low-intensity, supportive education and resource intervention for care partners who previously participated in an observational study. Participants complete a baseline phone interview and a short stress journaling activity, followed by a six-week series of automated educational and supportive messages delivered by text message or email. Participants may also take part in an optional peer support focus group. The study examines caregiver stress, resilience, engagement with resources, and participant feedback to inform future caregiver support interventions.

Coping Psychoeducation for Family Caregivers of Palliative Care Patients

This quasi-experimental study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a six-week, nurse-led structured coping psychoeducation program for family caregivers of patients receiving palliative care. The study will examine the effects of the intervention on caregiver burden, coping strategies, and burnout using pre- and post-intervention assessments.

The Effect of Dyadic Self-Care Education Provided to Breast Cancer Patient-Caregiver Dyads on Patient and Caregiver Outcomes

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of dyadic self-care education provided to breast cancer patient-caregiver dyads receiving outpatient chemotherapy on patient self-care behaviors, anxiety levels, and caregiver anxiety levels and caregiver burden. Participants will be randomly assigned to either a dyadic self-care education intervention or routine care. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline and follow-up using validated instruments.

Artificially Intelligent Robot Control

The purpose of the study is to compare the impact of standard asthma education with the standard + Artificially Intelligent Robot (AIR) Control intervention.

Nurse-Led Caregiver Support Program in Home Palliative Care

This randomized controlled trial aims to evaluate the effect of a nurse-led caregiver support program on caregiver competency and healthcare utilization among family caregivers of patients receiving home palliative care. Family caregivers in the intervention group will receive a structured 6-week nurse-led support program including face-to-face education, weekly telephone coaching, caregiver guidance materials, and decision support for symptom management and healthcare utilization. The control group will continue to receive routine home palliative care services. Primary outcome is caregiver competency. Secondary outcomes include caregiver burden, self-efficacy, patient symptom burden, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations.

Supporting Mental Health and Reducing Care Stress in Caregivers of Persons With Cardiovascular Disease

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the preliminary efficacy, feasibility, acceptability, and barriers and facilitators to implementation of the Confident Caregiver intervention among family caregivers of persons with cardiovascular disease participating in cardiac rehabilitation. Caregivers receive four individualized intervention sessions focused on assessment of caregiving challenges, tailored coaching, stress reduction, education, and referrals to supportive resources. Outcomes include reductions in caregiving-related challenges, improvements in mental health, and reductions in stress.

DECIDE: Dyads and Families

The purpose of this study is to design and test a decision-making program that is tailored to support adult daughters making healthcare decisions for their parents who are living with memory loss to improve the quality of life of African American families. There are two phases of this research study. The first phase will collect information by surveys and/or interviews. The surveys and interviews will ask questions about demographics (e.g., age, race/ethnicity), culture, health, family dynamics, caregiving, and healthcare experiences. The surveys will be completed by all eligible adult daughters and parents with memory loss in pairs. The interviews will be completed by a smaller number of pairs and by all former adult daughter caregivers. The general scope of topics is caregiving experiences, cultural identity, healthcare decisions for persons living with Alzheimer's disease, and related dementias, health, and well-being. The research team will identify and examine key factors that will lead to designing and testing the feasibility of a culturally tailored prototype intervention for African American dementia dyads/families of persons living with mild to moderate Alzheimer's disease and related dementias.

WeCareToFeedDysphagia to Reduce Care-partner Burden Full-scale RCT

The goal of this clinical trial is to learn if a newly-created website tool, called WeCareToFeedDysphagia, helps to reduce feelings of burden in care partners of patients with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (AD/ADRD) who were diagnosed with trouble swallowing (oropharyngeal dysphagia). The main questions this study aims to answer are: * How effective is the WeCareToFeedDysphagia tool in reducing feelings of burden in care partners? * Does the WeCareToFeed Dysphagia tool help improve patient outcomes? * Does care partner age, gender, and patient dysphagia severity impact the strength of the effect of the WeCareToFeedDysphagia tool? * Is the strength of the effect of the WeCareToFeedDysphagia tool impacted by care partner's beliefs in being able to manage behavior and stress (self-efficacy)? Researchers will compare a group of care partners who have access to the WeCareToFeedDysphagia tool (intervention) to a group of care partners who do not have access to the tool. Both groups will receive contact information for help from a speech language pathologist expert (enhanced usual care). Participants will: * be given access to the web tool and receive 3 text message reminders over 3 weeks to use the tool (intervention group only). * be asked to complete a remote, web-based survey three times: when enrolled in the study, at 1 month following patient leaving the hospital, and at 3 months following patient leaving the hospital.

Telephone Support in Advanced Gastrointestinal Cancer

The goal of this clinical trial is to see if telephone support programs help patients and their family caregivers adjust to advanced gastrointestinal cancer. A new telephone counseling program that involves practicing strategies for managing stress and symptoms will be compared to a telephone program involving education on quality-of-life issues and psychosocial support. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does our telephone counseling program lower the negative impact of patients' fatigue on their activities, emotions, and thinking abilities compared to a telephone program involving education and support? Does our telephone counseling program lower family caregivers' feelings of burden compared to a telephone program involving education and support? Participants in both study conditions will: Complete 6 weekly telephone sessions of counseling or education/support Complete a telephone booster session Complete 3 telephone interviews over about 5 months

Care Burden And Qualıty of Lıfe

This randomized controlled trial will be conducted to examine the effect of a multidimensional training program, to be implemented by a public health nurse, on the care burden and quality of life of primary caregivers of patients aged 65 and older.

Burden of Care and Health Literacy of Caregivers in the Emergency Department

This study aims to investigate the relationship between caregiver burden and health literacy among primary caregivers of patients with chronic diseases presenting to the emergency department. The study will be conducted in the Emergency Department of Yalova Training and Research Hospital and will include at least 300 caregivers. Data will be collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Turkish Health Literacy Scale-32 (THLS-32), and the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI). The findings are expected to contribute to a better understanding of caregivers' needs and to clarify the role of health literacy in caregiver burden among those providing care for individuals with chronic illnesses.

The SNAP Tool for Head and Neck Cancer Survivor-Caregiver Dyads

In this randomized behavioral intervention, head and neck cancer (HNC) survivors and their caregivers (N=176 HNC survivor-caregiver dyads) will be randomized to either Survivorship Needs Assessment Planning (SNAP) or Usual Care (UC) groups to examine the effects of SNAP on outcomes. SNAP includes two sessions with a needs assessment and tailored care plan and a supportive mobile app after completion of radiation to promote uptake of recommended medical and supportive care. The study aims to evaluate the effects of SNAP on symptom severity in patients and caregiver burden in caregivers. Secondary outcomes include psychological distress (anxiety and depression), healthcare utilization (receipt of recommended care) and unmet needs and self-efficacy in HNC survivor-caregiver dyads. Participants will complete surveys at baseline, 6 months, and 9 months post randomization with validated PROMs, and receive intervention modules at the end of radiation and month 3. Participants in the SNAP group will also receive mobile app support.

Effects of ACT-Based Psychoeducation on Caregivers of Individuals With Mental Disorders

This randomized controlled trial aimed to examine the effects of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based psychoeducation program on psychological resilience, stress management, and caregiver burden in caregivers of individuals with mental disorders. Participants were randomly assigned to either the intervention or control group. The intervention group received ACT-based psychoeducation while the control group received no intervention. H1-1: The mean psychological resilience scores of caregivers in the intervention group who received the ACT-based psychoeducation program are significantly higher compared to caregivers in the control group. H1-2: The mean stress management scores of caregivers in the intervention group who received the ACT-based psychoeducation program are significantly higher compared to caregivers in the control group. H1-3: The mean caregiver burden scores of caregivers in the intervention group who received the ACT-based psychoeducation program are significantly lower compared to caregivers in the control group. H1-4: The effects of the ACT-based psychoeducation program on psychological resilience, stress management, and caregiver burden differ significantly between caregivers of individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia and caregivers of individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

Efficacy of Caregiver Training Program in Enhancing Caregiver and Patient Outcomes

As part of Phase II of the NIH SBIR grant, the study will conduct a randomized controlled clinical trial in which the MapHabit system (MHS) will offer a caregiver training product in adjunct. MHS is an Alzheimer's disease or related dementias (ADRD) assistive technology product that uses visual maps to improve the quality of life of persons living with dementia (PLWD) and reduce the burden of care partners. The study will primarily investigate the efficacy of the Caregiver Training Program (CTP), a personalized dementia caregiver education service that is integrated into the MHS product. The study will be a randomized controlled clinical trial, in which two conditions will be investigated: 1) control condition in which the MHS alone is incorporated in the caregiver's daily care for PLWD and 2) experimental condition in which the MHS+CTP is implemented into the caregiver's daily care for PLWD. The sample size will be a total of 50 caregiver-PLWD dyads, 25 in each condition. This means the primary participant will be the caregiver, while the PLWD under the caregiver's care is considered the co-participant. Hence, 50 participant dyads enrolled will equate to 100 participants enrolled total. The study will be a 6-month intervention.

WECARE: A Behavioral Intervention for Dementia Caregivers

This study aims to pilot test a culturally tailored behavioral intervention called "WECARE" to enhance caregiving mastery and improve psychosocial wellbeing of Chinese American family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia.

Psychoeducation Program for Family Caregivers Coordinated by an APRN

The aim of this study is to assess the impact of implementing a specific family program coordinated by APRNs, covering the 5 levels of the family care pyramid through a consultation, an individual psychoeducation program and a group psychoeducation program, on improving caregiver burden and thus contributing to the recovery of users suffering from FEP. Detailed Description: Psychotic disorders are among the most disabling chronic pathologies in psychiatry. These disorders modify the individual's perceptions, thoughts, moods, behaviours and day-to-day functioning (Implementing interventions as early as possible in the first psychotic episode (FEP) would be likely to decrease the severity and consequences of the illness and improve prospects for recovery. Evidence supports the establishment of multidisciplinary teams to detect early and treat early those experiencing FEP and those at increased risk of psychosis. Recommended interventions include cognitive-behavioral therapies, family interventions, employment and educational support, and above all, at the heart of the system, case management. These specialized teams need to be multidisciplinary, bringing together psychiatrists, psychologists and social workers in addition to case managers. More recently in France, Advanced practice nurse (APRN) have joined these teams. But getting young people to accept both disorders and care is a difficult necessity, and remains a major challenge. Poor compliance with treatment is said to be one of the primary causes of relapse after FEP. Factors that increase the risk of relapse include initially more severe symptoms, persistent substance abuse, poor adherence to treatment and inadequate support from family and friends. Nowadays, support from a close caregiver for a person living with a psychic disorder is recognized as a very favorable factor for long-term prognosis. But the occurrence of a FEP often has the effect of a tidal wave for loved ones, who present high levels of psychological distress and feelings of burden. Unfortunately, it is still difficult for families to gain access to family caregiver support services, which are still insufficiently available and often unknown to them. A number of barriers stand in the way of systematically proposing family interventions, such as health professionals' lack of awareness of the effectiveness of interventions aimed at family carers, their difficulty in establishing a double therapeutic alliance with the young person and his or her family, or the misperception that family interventions are in contradiction with professional secrecy. The pyramid of family care in early intervention presents the family support that should be available to families of young people with FEP. The levels of intervention are designed to meet the support needs of family caregivers and can be used flexibly depending on specific needs or the phase of the psychotic episode. Also, APRNs could contribute to the success of these caregiver support programs thanks to their skills in prevention, assessment and coordination of complex pathways. This study therefore aims to determine the extent to which a specific program coordinated by APRNs can influence the burden of a family caregiver of a young person suffering from FEP.