Telephone Assessment and Skill-Building Intervention for Stroke Caregivers (TASKII)

March 30, 2015 updated by: Indiana University
The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of the revised Telephone Assessment and Skill-Building Kit (TASK II) compared with an Information, Support, and Referral (ISR) intervention in family caregivers of stroke survivors. We will also test if TASK II intervention effects on primary outcomes (depressive symptoms, caregiving-related negative life changes, unhealthy days) are mediated through effects on secondary outcomes (task difficulty, optimism, threat appraisal). Comparative costs and outcomes for the TASK II and ISR interventions will also be explored.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Stroke is the number one cause of disability in the United States, and over 4 million stroke survivors are alive today. Many stroke survivors need the help of a family caregiver. A family caregiver is a family member or close friend who helps the stroke survivor once they go home. Many caregivers need information and support during the first few months after the stroke survivor is discharged home. One group of caregivers will receive the TASK II intervention and another group of caregivers will receive existing educational materials about stroke and caregiving through an information, support, and referral (ISR) process. Both groups of caregivers will receive written materials about stroke and caregiving by mail and weekly telephone calls by a nurse for a total of 8 weeks, with an additional call at 12 weeks. A research assistant will also call by telephone at the beginning of the study, and at 8, 12, and 24 weeks after the beginning of the study, with a follow-up call at 1 year to interview both groups of caregivers about their caregiving activities and about their own health and well-being. If shown to be efficacious, our next goal will be to translate the TASK II intervention into practice settings to meet current recommendations and guidelines that emphasize follow up care for stroke survivors and their family caregivers.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

254

Phase

  • Phase 3

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
    • Indiana
      • Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, 46202
        • Indiana University School of Nursing

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

21 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Primary caregiver (unpaid family member or significant other) of a stroke survivor
  • No more than 8 weeks after survivor discharged home
  • Plans to be providing care for 1 year or longer
  • Access to a telephone
  • Willingness to participate in 9 calls from a nurse and 5 data collection interviews at designated study time points

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Caregiver or survivor age < 21 years
  • Caregiver denies that survivor has had a stroke
  • Caregiver does not consider him or herself a caregiver, stating that the survivor is not impaired or is the same as before the stroke
  • Caregiver has low task difficulty (OCBS task difficulty score < 16)
  • Caregiver communication difficulties (e.g., hearing loss)
  • Caregiver not fluent in the English language
  • Caregiver 6-item MMSE score less than 4
  • Survivor residing in a nursing home or long-term care facility
  • Survivor or caregiver has a terminal illness (e.g., cancer, end of life condition with decreased life expectancy, renal failure requiring dialysis)
  • Survivor or caregiver history of hospitalization for alcohol or drug abuse
  • Survivor or caregiver history of severe mental illness (e.g., Alzheimer's, dementia, suicidal tendencies, severe untreated depression or manic depressive disorder, schizophrenia)
  • Survivor or caregiver pregnancy
  • Survivor or caregiver is a prisoner or on house arrest

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
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Telephone Assessment and Skill-Building Kit (TASK II)
The TASK II group will fill out a checklist about their needs and concerns, and will receive written tip sheets by mail that address the needs and concerns that they feel are most important. A nurse will call by telephone (lasting about 30 minutes or less) once a week for a total of 8 weeks, with another call at 12 weeks, to provide more information, answer questions, and to discuss more written tip sheets based on the caregiver's needs and concerns.
Behavioral: Telephone Assessment and Skill-Building Kit (TASK II)
Active Comparator: Information, Support, and Referral (ISR)
The ISR group will receive existing educational materials about stroke and caregiving developed by the American Stroke Association and weekly telephone calls by a nurse (lasting about 30 minutes or less) for a total of 8 weeks, with another call at 12 weeks.
Behavioral: Information, Support, and Referral (ISR)

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Depressive symptoms: Patient Health Questionnaire Depression Scale (PHQ-9)
Time Frame: Change in depressive symptoms from baseline to 8 weeks
Among caregivers who screen positive for depressive symptoms at baseline, those randomized to the TASK II intervention will have a greater reduction in depressive symptoms compared to those randomized to the ISR group from baseline to 8 weeks, after controlling for selected covariates. Long-term, sustained efficacy will be assessed at 12 and 24 weeks, and at 1 year.
Change in depressive symptoms from baseline to 8 weeks
Caregiving-related negative life changes: Bakas Caregiving Outcomes Scale (BCOS)
Time Frame: Change in caregiving-related negative life changes from baseline to 8 weeks
Caregivers randomized to the TASK II group will have a greater reduction in caregiving-related negative life changes compared with those randomized to the ISR group from baseline to 8 weeks, after controlling for selected covariates. Long-term, sustained efficacy will be assessed at 12 and 24 weeks, and at 1 year.
Change in caregiving-related negative life changes from baseline to 8 weeks
Unhealthy days: Unhealthy Days (UD)
Time Frame: Change in unhealthy days from baseline to 8 weeks
Caregivers randomized to the TASK II group will have a greater reduction in unhealthy days compared with those randomized to the ISR group from baseline to 8 weeks, after controlling for selected covariates. Long-term, sustained efficacy will be assessed at 12 and 24 weeks, and at 1 year.
Change in unhealthy days from baseline to 8 weeks

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Task difficulty: Oberst Caregiving Burden Scale Difficulty Subscale (OCBS)
Time Frame: Change in task difficulty from baseline to 8 weeks
Caregivers randomized to the TASK II group will have a greater reduction in task difficulty compared with those randomized to the ISR group from baseline to 8 weeks, after controlling for selected covariates. Long-term, sustained efficacy will be assessed at 12 and 24 weeks, and at 1 year.
Change in task difficulty from baseline to 8 weeks
Optimism: Revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R)
Time Frame: Change in optimism from baseline to 8 weeks
Caregivers randomized to the TASK II group will have a greater increase in optimism compared with those randomized to the ISR group from baseline to 8 weeks, after controlling for selected covariates. Long-term, sustained efficacy will be assessed at 12 and 24 weeks, and at 1 year.
Change in optimism from baseline to 8 weeks
Threat appraisal: Appraisal of Caregiving Threat Subscale (ACS)
Time Frame: Change in threat appraisal from baseline to 8 weeks
Caregivers randomized to the TASK II group will have a greater reduction in threat appraisal compared with those randomized to the ISR group from baseline to 8 weeks, after controlling for selected covariates. Long-term, sustained efficacy will be assessed at 12 and 24 weeks, and at 1 year.
Change in threat appraisal from baseline to 8 weeks

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Indiana University

Collaborators

National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR)

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

May 1, 2010

Primary Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2014

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2014

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

January 10, 2011

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

January 11, 2011

First Posted (Estimate)

January 12, 2011

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

March 31, 2015

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 30, 2015

Last Verified

March 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 1003-63
  • R01NR010388 (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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