Trial of Benefit Finding in Caregivers: The Building Resources in Caregivers (BRiC) Study (BRiC)

A Randomised Controlled Trial of Benefit Finding in Caregivers: The Building Resources in Caregivers (BRiC) Study Protocol

A randomised controlled trial that will compare the effects of a brief benefit -finding writing intervention with an active control condition on quality of life and psychological health among informal caregivers.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Quality of Life; Psychological Distress
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Benefit-finding Writing Activity; Behavioral: Neutral Writing Activity

Detailed Description

A double-blind, randomized controlled parallel group study design with an equal 1:1 allocation ratio will be employed. This study will compare the effect of a brief benefit finding writing intervention with a control condition among caregivers. Caregivers currently caring for people with mental and physical disabilities will be randomised into a two-week, a) a benefit writing group or b) a control writing group. Caregivers will complete self-report measures relating to their care-recipient and themselves (e.g., illness type, and sociodemographics) and psychometric measures of benefit finding (primary outcome), psychological distress and quality of life(secondary outcomes). These will be assessed via online software at baseline, immediate post-test and at 3 month follow-up. Additionally, expectations and fidelity indices will be assessed and qualitative commentary on participation experiences gathered.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 88
• Phase: Not Applicable

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 18 years and older (Adult, Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Must be over the age of 18
• Must identify as caring for a family member, friend or relative
• Must be living in Ireland

Exclusion Criteria:

• If the person cared for is living in institutional care

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Treatment
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: Triple

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Benefit-finding Writing Activity; For two weeks, on six days of their choice, caregivers will be instructed to write about their thoughts and feelings in a diary/ notebook about the benefits of caring.	Behavioral: Benefit-finding Writing Activity; Caregivers will be instructed to write about the benefits of caring, considering things such as improved social relationship, appreciation of life and loved ones, and the positive consequences with respect to these.
Active Comparator: Neutral Writing activity; For two weeks, on six days of their choice, caregivers will be instructed to write about a neutral topic.	Behavioral: Neutral Writing Activity; The control group will be instructed to write number of things about the weather that day. Although the sentences can be as long or as short as they like, they will be encouraged to try and aim for about 3 or 4 sentences at least.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Benefit Finding (Adapted version of the 17-item Benefit Finding Scale; Antoni et al., 2001)	Used to assess change in benefit-finding levels over the course of the intervention and follow-up	Baseline, immediate post-intervention (two weeks), and 3 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Caregiver Quality of Life (40 item Adult Carer Quality of Life Questionnaire; Joseph, Becker, Elwick, & Silburn, 2012)	This measures quality of life in eight separate domains: support for caring; caring choice; caring stress; money matters; personal growth; sense of value; ability to care; and carer satisfaction. Used to assess change in quality of life levels over the course of the intervention and follow-up	Baseline, immediate post-intervention (two weeks), and 3 months
Psychological Distress (Hospital and Anxiety Depression Scale; Zigmond & Snaith, 1983)	Used to assess change in psychological distress levels over the course of the intervention and follow-up, and as a moderator	Baseline, immediate post-intervention (two weeks), and 3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Limerick
• Collaborators: Carolan Research Institute; Care Alliance Ireland
• Investigators: Study Director: Stephen Gallagher, PhD, University of Limerick, Department of Psychology; Principal Investigator: Charles Brand, MSc, University of Limerick; Principal Investigator: Brenda H O' Connell, B.A, University of Limerick

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start: June 1, 2015
• Primary Completion (Actual): October 1, 2015
• Study Completion (Actual): October 1, 2015

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: May 11, 2015
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: May 13, 2015
• First Posted (Estimate): May 14, 2015

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimate): October 6, 2015
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 5, 2015
• Last Verified: October 1, 2015

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: Caregiving; Writing Intervention; Benefit Finding
• Other Study ID Numbers: BRiC2015