Caring for Family Caregivers:a Research-action Study

February 7, 2013 updated by: Fundacio d'Investigacio en Atencio Primaria Jordi Gol i Gurina

Depression and Anxiety Symptoms Reduction and Perceived Wellbeing Improvement in Female Primary Caregivers of Chronically Ill Patients by the Application of Problem Solving Technique by Primary Health Care Nurses

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the Problem Solving Technique (PST) in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression among primary caregivers of chronically ill patients.

And also to describe and evaluate the process carried out by nurses when implementing the PST as a useful tool for care for family caregivers.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Background: In Spain, home care for the chronically ill and their family caregivers should be a priority in health and social policies due to the aging of the population and the progressive increase in dependent individuals. In our case, 88% of healthcare within dependency care is provided by the family and only 12% by health professionals. The family requires comprehensive and multidisciplinary ongoing care, in which the primary healthcare nurse plays a leading role. One of the areas involved is home-based nursing and counselling for family caregivers, in order to improve the quality of the care provided and to prevent issues arising that may adversely affect the caregiver's life.

Method: This is a research-action study with a mixed analysis methodology. Quantitative analysis was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the Problem Solving Technique in reducing symptoms of anxiety and depression among family caregivers. The clinical trial involved a control and experimental group and pre-post intervention measurements, using the Goldberg scale of anxiety and depression. The sample consisted of 122 caregivers who presented one of these positive subscales. The technique's application process was evaluated for the qualitative analysis, with a content analysis of the records of 10 nurses performing the experimental intervention.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

122

Phase

  • 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

  • Spain
      • Tarragona, Spain, 43000
        • Primary Health Centers, Tarragona Province

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

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

Female

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

Caregivers of chronically ill patients included in the ATDOM programme, who at the time of the intervention had a positive score on the Goldberg scale for anxiety and/or depression.

Exclusion Criteria:

Professional caregivers

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: Non-Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Lifestyle counseling
Application of Problem Solving Technique
Behavioral: Application of Problem Solving Technique
No Intervention: No counseling
Usual care by caregiver

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Anxiety
Time Frame: Two years
Goldberg Scale
Two years
Depression
Time Frame: Two years
Goldberg scale
Two years
perceived wellbeing levels
Time Frame: two years
Primary caregiver's Emotional health(NOC 2506)
two years

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Fundacio d'Investigacio en Atencio Primaria Jordi Gol i Gurina

Collaborators

Preventive Services and Health Promotion Research Network

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

September 1, 2007

Primary Completion (Actual)

September 1, 2009

Study Completion (Actual)

July 1, 2011

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

February 1, 2013

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 6, 2013

First Posted (Estimate)

February 7, 2013

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 8, 2013

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 7, 2013

Last Verified

February 1, 2013

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 070489

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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