Healthy Parent Carers Feasibility Study

Healthy Parent Carers Programme: Feasibility Study of a Peer-led Group-based Health Promotion Intervention for Parent Carers of Disabled Children Using a Parallel Group Randomised Controlled Trial Design

This study is a feasibility study of a peer-led group-based health promotion intervention for parent carers. It will used a parallel group randomised controlled trial design to compare a group based intervention called Healthy Parent Carers, with online resources about improving health and wellbeing.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Health Behavior
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Healthy Parent Carers group programme; Behavioral: Healthy Parent Carers online resources

Detailed Description

The objectives of the study are:

1. to evaluate whether the programme can be delivered in the community, and
2. to provide information necessary to design a definitive randomised controlled trial.

The investigators aim to recruit at least 96 parent carers of children with special educational needs and disabilities aged up to 25 years in six sites in Devon, Cornwall and Somerset. Participants will be individually randomised, stratified by group delivery site when recruitment in each site is completed, to either take part in a group programme, which includes online Healthy Parent Carer programme materials (intervention), or to receive access to the online materials for self-study only (control).

The programme content is organised into 12 modules, which can be delivered over six longer (4-hour) sessions or 12 shorter (2-hour) sessions. Groups will consist of at least 6 parent carers. The participant materials will be provided online.

Demographics will be collected at baseline. Participants will complete measures of mental health, wellbeing, health-related quality of life, health behaviours, patient activation, protective factors, and resource use. These data will be collected before randomisation (baseline), at post-intervention (i.e. after the intervention arm completes the group programme), and at 6 months post-intervention.

Recruitment will be monitored in order to plan for a definitive trial. Facilitators' adherence to the Facilitator Manual and participant engagement will be monitored using a facilitator checklist at the end of the sessions and we will audio-record the training sessions and group sessions. Participants' will provide feedback on the programme to assess the acceptability of the outcome measures. The investigators will conduct interviews with a sample of participants in both study arms and a focus group with facilitators to provide insights into intervention content, delivery and experience.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 93
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United Kingdom
  • Cornwall
    • Saint Austell, Cornwall, United Kingdom, PL26 6AZ
      • Children's Hospice South West Little Harbour
  • Devon
    • Bideford, Devon, United Kingdom, EX39 2EY
      • Learn Devon Bideford
    • Dawlish, Devon, United Kingdom, EX7 9SF
      • Orchard Manor School
    • Plymouth, Devon, United Kingdom, PL6 5ES
      • Woodlands School
    • Torquay, Devon, United Kingdom, TQ2 5QB
      • Torbay Parent Carer Forum
  • Somerset
    • Minehead, Somerset, United Kingdom, TA24 5AP
      • The Beach Hotel

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Child; Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• a) Primary carers of children who identify that their children have additional needs and/or disabilities. Participants who self-identify as primary carers are eligible. The child should be up to 25 years old (this age range is consistent with the current UK Department of Health and Department of Education Special Educational Needs & Disability (SEND) legislation and The Children's Act);

  b) Willing and able to attend the programme group meeting session(s) on arranged dates/times;

  c) Able to access online information.

Exclusion Criteria:

• a) Not able to communicate in English.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Prevention
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Group programme; Healthy Parent Carers group programme: A group-based peer led manualised programme called Healthy Parent Carers. The programme content is organised into 12 modules, which can be delivered over six longer (4-hour) sessions or 12 shorter (2-hour) sessions.	Behavioral: Healthy Parent Carers group programme; Peer-led group-based weekly programme.
Active Comparator: Online resources; Healthy Parent Carers online resources: Online resources from the Healthy Parent Carers programme, including materials for 12 modules and related videos and audio files to illustrate the content.	Behavioral: Healthy Parent Carers online resources; Online resources related to health and wellbeing

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale	The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) is a 14-item scale used to assess mental wellbeing in the general population and in evaluation of programmes aiming to improve mental wellbeing.	6 months post-intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale	The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) is a 14-item scale used to assess mental wellbeing in the general population and in evaluation of programmes aiming to improve mental wellbeing.	Baseline
Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale	The Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being Scale (WEMWBS) is a 14-item scale used to assess mental wellbeing in the general population and in evaluation of programmes aiming to improve mental wellbeing.	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)
EQ-5D-5L	The EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D-5L) is a measure of health-related quality of life. It consists of five items measuring five dimensions of health-related quality of life (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression) and a vertical visual analogue scale measuring self-rated health.	Baseline
EQ-5D-5L	The EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D-5L) is a measure of health-related quality of life. It consists of five items measuring five dimensions of health-related quality of life (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression) and a vertical visual analogue scale measuring self-rated health.	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)
EQ-5D-5L	The EuroQol-5 Dimensions (EQ-5D-5L) is a measure of health-related quality of life. It consists of five items measuring five dimensions of health-related quality of life (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain/discomfort, and anxiety/depression) and a vertical visual analogue scale measuring self-rated health.	6 months post-intervention
PHQ-9	The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure that rates the frequency of symptoms and is designed for screening, diagnosing, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression.	Baseline
PHQ-9	The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure that rates the frequency of symptoms and is designed for screening, diagnosing, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression.	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)
PHQ-9	The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) is a 9-item measure that rates the frequency of symptoms and is designed for screening, diagnosing, monitoring, and measuring the severity of depression.	6 months post-intervention
Health Promoting Activities Scale	The HPAS is an 8-item measure of a person's estimation of the frequency with which they participate in a range of activities that promote or maintain health and well-being.	Baseline
Health Promoting Activities Scale	The HPAS is an 8-item measure of a person's estimation of the frequency with which they participate in a range of activities that promote or maintain health and well-being.	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)
Health Promoting Activities Scale	The HPAS is an 8-item measure of a person's estimation of the frequency with which they participate in a range of activities that promote or maintain health and well-being.	6 months post-intervention
Patient Activation Measure (PAM)	The PAM is a 13-item measure that measures the spectrum of skills, knowledge, and confidence in patients and captures the extent to which people feel engaged and confident in managing their own health and care.	Baseline
Patient Activation Measure (PAM)	The PAM is a 13-item measure that measures the spectrum of skills, knowledge, and confidence in patients and captures the extent to which people feel engaged and confident in managing their own health and care.	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)
Patient Activation Measure (PAM)	The PAM is a 13-item measure that measures the spectrum of skills, knowledge, and confidence in patients and captures the extent to which people feel engaged and confident in managing their own health and care.	6 months post-intervention
Parents' Assessment of Protective Factors	The PAPF is a 36-item measure that assesses protective factors identified in the development of the Strengthening Families evidence-based parenting programme. These protective factors are: parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, and support of children's social and emotional competence.	Baseline
Parents' Assessment of Protective Factors	The PAPF is a 36-item measure that assesses protective factors identified in the development of the Strengthening Families evidence-based parenting programme. These protective factors are: parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, and support of children's social and emotional competence.	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)
Parents' Assessment of Protective Factors	The PAPF is a 36-item measure that assesses protective factors identified in the development of the Strengthening Families evidence-based parenting programme. These protective factors are: parental resilience, social connections, concrete support in times of need, and support of children's social and emotional competence.	6 months post-intervention
ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults (ICECAP-A)	The ICECAP-A is a 5-item measure of capability, which includes the following aspects of wellbeing found to be important to adults in the UK: attachment, stability, achievement, enjoyment, and autonomy. A set of UK utility values is available for the ICECAP-A, enabling it to be used in economic evaluations.	Baseline
ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults (ICECAP-A)	The ICECAP-A is a 5-item measure of capability, which includes the following aspects of wellbeing found to be important to adults in the UK: attachment, stability, achievement, enjoyment, and autonomy. A set of UK utility values is available for the ICECAP-A, enabling it to be used in economic evaluations.	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)
ICEpop CAPability measure for Adults (ICECAP-A)	The ICECAP-A is a 5-item measure of capability, which includes the following aspects of wellbeing found to be important to adults in the UK: attachment, stability, achievement, enjoyment, and autonomy. A set of UK utility values is available for the ICECAP-A, enabling it to be used in economic evaluations.	6 months post-intervention
Service and Resource Use questionnaire	We will develop a resource use questionnaire in collaboration with parent carers. This will include health, social care, participant and broader societal resource use, and draw on measures in the Database of Instruments for Resource Use Management (DIRUM).	Baseline
Service and Resource Use questionnaire	We will develop a resource use questionnaire in collaboration with parent carers. This will include health, social care, participant and broader societal resource use, and draw on measures in the Database of Instruments for Resource Use Management (DIRUM).	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)
Service and Resource Use questionnaire	We will develop a resource use questionnaire in collaboration with parent carers. This will include health, social care, participant and broader societal resource use, and draw on measures in the Database of Instruments for Resource Use Management (DIRUM).	6 months post-intervention
Programme Feedback Form	We will collect feedback from treatment and control arm participants about the Healthy Parent Carer materials and delivery via a feedback form. All participants will be asked to complete the feedback form at 15 weeks post-randomisation.	Immediately post-intervention (up to 12 weeks)

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Exeter
• Collaborators: University of Oxford
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Chris Morris, DPhil, University of Exeter

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Borek AJ, McDonald B, Fredlund M, Bjornstad G, Logan S, Morris C. Healthy Parent Carers programme: development and feasibility of a novel group-based health-promotion intervention. BMC Public Health. 2018 Feb 20;18(1):270. doi: 10.1186/s12889-018-5168-4.
• Bjornstad G, Wilkinson K, Cuffe-Fuller B, Fitzpatrick K, Borek A, Ukoumunne OC, Hawton A, Tarrant M, Berry V, Lloyd J, McDonald A, Fredlund M, Rhodes S, Logan S, Morris C. Healthy Parent Carers peer-led group-based health promotion intervention for parent carers of disabled children: protocol for a feasibility study using a parallel group randomised controlled trial design. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2019 Nov 23;5:137. doi: 10.1186/s40814-019-0517-3. eCollection 2019.
• Bjornstad G, Cuffe-Fuller B, Ukoumunne OC, Fredlund M, McDonald A, Wilkinson K, Lloyd J, Hawton A, Berry V, Tarrant M, Borek A, Fitzpatrick K, Gillett A, Rhodes S, Logan S, Morris C. Healthy Parent Carers: feasibility randomised controlled trial of a peer-led group-based health promotion intervention for parent carers of disabled children. Pilot Feasibility Stud. 2021 Jul 23;7:144. doi: 10.1186/s40814-021-00881-5. eCollection 2021.

Helpful Links

• Healthy Parent Carers study website

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 29, 2018
• Primary Completion (Actual): February 4, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): February 4, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 10, 2018
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 10, 2018
• First Posted (Actual): October 15, 2018

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 16, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 11, 2020
• Last Verified: September 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Other Study ID Numbers: NIHR RfPB PB-PG-0317-20044; 246169 (Other Identifier: IRAS)

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No