Polarity Therapy for American Indian Caregivers of Dementia Patients

April 21, 2008 updated by: National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Polarity Therapy for Dementia Caregivers

The purpose of this study is to assess the effectiveness of polarity therapy (PT), a complementary and alternative medicine treatment, in American Indian caregivers living in the Pacific Northwest.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The caregivers of people with dementia experience high levels of stress and are at particularly high risk for physical and mental illness. Although stress and illness are serious problems among American Indian caregivers in the Northwest, few studies have concentrated on this population. PT is a treatment that involves awareness of one's energy field and touch therapy; it has been shown to provide several physiological, biological, and psychological benefits. This study will determine whether PT is more effective than respite from caregiving in reducing stress, anxiety, and depression and improving health function and overall quality of life in American Indian caregivers.

Participants will be randomly assigned to receive either eight weekly sessions of PT or 3 hours of weekly respite from caregiving for 8 weeks. At the beginning of the study and at Weeks 4 and 8, participants will complete questionnaires and self-report scales on stress, anxiety, depression, and quality of life. In addition, heart rate variability and levels of cortisol will be measured at study entry and Weeks 4 and 8.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

50

Phase

  • Phase 1

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

  • United States
    • Washington
      • Olympia, Washington, United States, 98502
        • Center for World Indigenous Studies

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

Ages Eligible for Study

35 years to 65 years (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Caregiver of a family member with dementia for at least 4 hours a day
  • American Indian

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Nerve disorders caused by diabetes
  • Use of beta blockers

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: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Perceived stress

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health (NCCIH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Leslie E. Korn, PhD, MPH, Center for World Indigenous Studies

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.

Helpful Links

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

August 1, 2004

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2007

Study Completion (Actual)

April 1, 2007

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

December 22, 2004

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

December 22, 2004

First Posted (Estimate)

December 23, 2004

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

April 22, 2008

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 21, 2008

Last Verified

April 1, 2008

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R21AT001627-01A1 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

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.

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