Effectiveness of a Care Management System to Reduce Unmet Needs of Informal Caregivers of People With Dementia (GAIN)

March 16, 2023 updated by: Wolfgang Hoffmann, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)

"Care Management for Caregivers of People With Dementia: Effectiveness of a Care Management System to Reduce Unmet Needs of Informal Caregivers of People With Dementia"

The purpose of this study is to test the effectiveness of a computer assisted care management system to identify and reduce unmet needs for and to improve quality of life of informal caregivers of people with dementia.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

The identification of care needs of informal caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) at home is of particular importance to provide timely appropriate support and health care services to this vulnerable group. Family doctors and specialists have a key role in identifying the burden and care needs of informal caregivers. However, this often remains a challenge in everyday practice. In addition, the regionally available support and health care offers are often unknown. A computer-assisted care management system (CMS) can support the identification of unmet care needs and suggest individual, regional offers via a constantly updated database. On the basis of a standardized self-assessment, the VMS identifies personal, social, nursing and medical care needs of informal caregivers of PwD. The investigators apply the system in family and specialist practices as well as in memory clinics where it generates modularized recommendations for interventions based on predefined algorithms. The aim of the study is to test the effectiveness of a CMS to reduce the number of unmet care needs and to improve quality of life of informal caregivers of PwD. The study design is a cluster-randomized, controlled intervention study with two arms and two assessment times. The setting includes family and specialist practices for neurology and/ or psychiatry as well as memory clinics. The CMS will be used in the practices of the intervention group. Informal caregivers of PwD answer a self-administered questionnaire on a tablet PC. From the input, the system generates a list of unmet care needs based on predefined algorithms, and assigns these to individual intervention recommendations. The doctor evaluates each recommendation and forwards a validated list and possibly further intervention recommendations to a study assistant (Care Manager, CM). In a subsequent home visit, the care manager systematically collects additional information, specifies and concretizes the intervention recommendations and supports the informal caregivers of PwD in the implementation of the recommendations. In subsequent telephone contacts, the status of the implementation of the intervention recommendations will be discussed and the care manager coordinates the informal caregivers individual support. Patients of the control group will receive Care as Usual (CAU). After 6 months, a blinded, systematic, computer-based follow-up assessment will be conducted in both groups by hitherto uninvolved study assistants

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
192

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • Germany
    • Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania
      • Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, Germany, 17489
        • German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • 18+ years
  • main caregiver of a PwD (Hauptversorgungsperson)
  • PwD lives at home
  • written informed consent of caregiver

Exclusion Criteria:

  • caregiver not living in the study region MV
  • not able to provide written consent
  • unable to fill out self-administered questionnaire an/or to be interviewed

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Intervention
Other: Care Management
A computerized Care Management System (CMS) will identify unmet needs of the informal caregiver of PwD and generates suggestions for interventions. Based on these, the treating physician develops an individualized treatment and care plan and assigns specific tasks to the care manager. Upon a home visit in the caregivers' home the care manager evaluates the need for additional tasks. Based on the complete list of tasks, the care manager initiates the implementation of respective actions. Via monthly telephone calls and optional home visits the care manager monitors the status of implementation and actively coordinates the support and care for the informal caregiver recommended intervention
No Intervention: care as usual

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in number of Unmet Needs
Time Frame: Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)
A standardized assessment implemented as computer-assisted intervention management system (CMS) addresses caregiver burden, medical needs, home care needs, psychosocial needs (depression, sleep quality, pain, hearing, seeing, teeth problems, dementia related problems caused by PwD, medical aids). Based on predefined algorithms the CMS will generate a list of recommended intervention to address each of the unmet needs.
Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)
Change in Quality of Life
Time Frame: Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)]
The questionnaire SF-12 (Short form of SF-36) will be used to assess quality of life. The SF-12 is a physical scale score that represents general health perception, physical functioning, physical role functioning, and pain. The mental health score represents emotional role functioning, mental well-being, negative affectivity, and social functioning. The mean score is set to 50. Scores higher than 50 indicate better physical or mental health than the mean while scores lower than 50 indicate worse physical mental health than the mean.
Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)]

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Caregiver Burden
Time Frame: Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)]
Informal caregiver burden will be assessed using the 7-item (short) version of the Zarit-Burden Interview; ZBI-7. The short version ZBI is a caregiver self-report measure to examine burden which is associated with functional/behavioural impairments in the social, psychological and physiological context and home care situation.It contains 7 items using a 5-point scale. Response options range from 0 (Never) to 4 (Nearly/Always). Total scores range from 0 indicating low burden to 88 indicating high burden.
Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)]
Social Support
Time Frame: Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)
Social support will be assessed using the Lubben Social Network Scale (LSNS). This scale is a self-report measure of social engagement including family and friends on a 12 item scale. Total scores ranging from 0 to 90. High scores indicate strong social networks.
Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)
Use of medical and non-medical services
Time Frame: : Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)]
The use of medical and non-medical services will be assessed using the Questionnaire for the Use of Medical and Non-Medical Services in Old Age [Fragebogen zur Inanspruchnahme medizinischer und nicht-medizinischer Versorgungsleistungen im Alter". The FIMA examines socio-economic variables and other medical factors to determine health-related costs.
: Baseline values assessed at time of visit to the physician (T0), Outcome value assessed 6 months later at concluding home visit (T6)]

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
University Medicine Greifswald
Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (GBA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Wolfgang Hoffmann, MD, German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE)

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
October 9, 2020

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 31, 2022

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
March 1, 2023

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 26, 2019

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 26, 2019

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 30, 2019

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
March 17, 2023

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
March 16, 2023

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
March 1, 2023

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • GR009
  • 01VSF18030 (Other Grant/Funding Number: Gemeinsamer Bundesausschuss (GBA))

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Clinical Trials on Carer Stress Syndrome

Clinical Trials on Care Management

Search Similar Trials

Sponsors and Collaborators

Medical Conditions

Drug Interventions

Conditions

Rare Diseases

Drug Interventions

Dietary Supplements

Sponsor/Collaborators

Locations

Cookie Settings

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. For more details carefully read our Privacy and Cookies Policy. ...>>>You can change your preferences or withdraw your consent at any time by deleting the cookies from your website or computer as described in the policy. Please accept it and choose your preferences by ticking the corresponding boxes in the "Manage Settings" section below. Please carefully read our Terms of Service before you proceed with using any part of this website.
«Manage Settings