Clinical Research Directory

Machine Learning Enabled Management of Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia Intervention for Dementia Caregivers

Develop and test a machine learning enabled management of behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia intervention for dementia caregivers.

Virtual Reality for Caregiver Assembly, Relief, Empowerment, and Support (VR-CARES)

The VR-CARES project is an innovative, collaborative effort that invites dementia care professionals into the design process of a virtual reality platform seeking to mitigate their work-related burden and social isolation by cultivating a virtual community of support. The co-created, caregiver-specific VR platform will serve as a safe, communal space where caregivers can remotely connect with their peers, share fun experiences together, access support, learn self-care and build resilience within a supportive virtual network to enhance their social and mental health and job satisfaction. Central to VR-CARES in the principle of user-led innovation, ensuring that the technology not only serves but is informed and successfully adopted by the very individuals it intends to benefit, an important standard for empathetic and inclusive technology in healthcare.

The Existential Cognitive Intervention to Enhance Positive Aspect of Caregiving (EXCITE-PAC) in a Dementia Context

Although research evidence is emerging on the co-existence of a positive caregiving experience in the physically and psychosocially taxing dementia care context, little attention has been paid to promoting the positive aspects of caregiving (PAC) among family carers. We adopt the paradigm of existential positive psychology, integrating cognitive behavioural theory, construal level theory, and Antonovsky's theory of salutogenesis to develop an existential-cognitive intervention to enhance positive aspects of caregiving (EXCITE-PAC), and thereby improve the health outcomes of family carers of people living with dementia (PLwD). A randomised controlled trial is proposed to evaluate the effects of EXCITE-PAC on carers' health and to examine whether any such effects are mediated through changes in PAC. Post-trial interviews with carers will further elucidate their experiences of the intervention and their perceptions of its impact. The proposed study will yield important theoretical and public health advances. Theoretically, it will test the validity of an integrative paradigm designed to enrich the life space of family carers in the context of dementia care by increasing their opportunities to experience PAC. If supported, this paradigm can complement the dominant stress-coping framework and help reshape the caregiving experience of family carers of PLwD. From a public health perspective, if EXCITE-PAC proves effective, it will respond to the WHO Global Action Plan on Dementia by promoting carers' health. Crucially, by enriching carers' PAC through empowering them to internalise a new perspective on dementia caregiving, the intervention has the potential to foster more sustainable and evolving positive effects on role adaptation and health status. Together with a comprehensive evaluation of outcomes and end-user experiences, the knowledge generated from this study can be readily translated into dementia care service development and policy. This is a pilot mixed-method study comprising a randomised controlled trial and a post-trial qualitative interview. The inclusion criteria are: i) family carers of Chinese PLwDs diagnosed at least six months previously; ii) caregiving for ≥ 4 hours/day; iii) Chinese-speaking; iv) have a mobile device to access virtual meetings via Go-To-Meeting or Zoom; and iv) consent to participate. After the baseline outcome evaluation, they will be randomised to receive the 12-week EXCITE-PAC program or usual care. The program comprises three phases, including i) face-to-face home visit, ii) group-based virtual meetings, and iii) telephone follow-ups. The outcome evaluation on i) PAC, ii) Health-related quality of life (HRQoL), iii) depression, iv) self-efficacy in caregiving, and v) meaning-making upon programme completion will be assessed at baseline, in the 12th and 18th weeks. Qualitative interviews will be conducted.

Developing and Evaluating a Digital Intervention Aiming to Support Informal Caregivers of People With Dementia

The goal of this feasibility trial is to test the acceptability and feasibility of a new digital education pro-gram, the Caregiver Education Resource for Dementia (CARE-Dem). This is a behavioral (non-medical) intervention, designed to support informal caregivers of people with dementia. The primary purpose is to explore whether this program can help improve wellbeing and reduce burden among informal caregivers. The study focuses on adult caregivers, such as spouses, partners, relatives, or close friends of people recently diagnosed with dementia or living with mild dementia. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Is it possible to recruit and retain caregivers to participate in this type of digital intervention? * Do participants find the program relevant, useful, and acceptable? Are the study procedures and outcome measures (such as questionnaires) suitable and manage-able for the participants? * Does the intervention show preliminary signs of reducing caregiver burden and improving care-givers' wellbeing, knowledge, quality of relationship with the person with dementia, ability to ac-cept the situation, and feelings of being capable of managing their caregiving role? Researchers will compare caregivers who receive the CARE-Dem program with a control group who are offered the usual municipal information sessions. This allows us to see whether the digital pro-gram is feasible and whether it shows signs of effect compared with standard practice. Participants in the intervention group will be asked to: • Use the CARE-Dem digital platform over a three-month period. The platform includes three modules: Module 1: Understanding dementia and medical treatment options Module 2: Everyday life and communication with a person with dementia Module 3: Legal and practical matters, and information on support available in the community * Engage with a mix of learning materials such as short videos, fact sheets, interactive activities, guides, and links to further resources * Complete questionnaires at baseline and after 3 months to measure caregiver burden, wellbeing, and self-efficacy * Take part in qualitative interviews about their experiences with the program, including usability, satisfaction, acquired knowledge, benefits, and suggestions for improvement. Participants in the control group will receive treatment as usual. They will be offered to take part in existing information sessions provided by the municipalities, but attendance is optional. Researchers will record whether or not they attend, in order to compare results across subgroups. This feasibility trial will help determine whether it is possible to run a larger evaluation of the CARE-Dem program in the future. If successful, the program could provide flexible and accessible support to the many caregivers of people with dementia, reaching those who cannot attend traditional in-person sessions.

Dementia Family Caregiver Study

The proposed study will test a 3-month, community health worker (CHW) delivered home visit, culturally and language-appropriate intervention for ethnic and underserved dementia family caregivers of persons with dementia (PWD) using wearable technology for real time monitoring of caregivers' stress and sleep. The CHW delivered home visit intervention includes stress reduction techniques by mindful deep breathing and compassionate support/listening and caregiving education to improve caregiver's health, wellbeing, and positive interactions with the PWD. This dementia caregiver study using wearable technology has the potential to significantly lessen health disparities in dementia care, assisting underserved ethnic dementia caregivers in self-management and increasing their quality of life.

Telephone-coached "Graphic Narrative" Bibliotherapy for Dementia Caregivers

This study aims to assess the efficacy of telephone-coached graphic narrative bibliotherapy in improving dementia caregiver depressive symptoms compared with the booklet group.