The PorchLight Project

The proposed project is a fully embedded pragmatic trial (R01), following an R61 pilot collaboration with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS-MN).

For this project: a) the training program for Senior Companions that was developed in the R61 Phase will now be delivered as part of a routine onboarding process provided by LSS-MN to all senior support volunteers in half of their program regions across Minnesota; LSS-MN will offer the PorchLight Project program to all regions and volunteers in the state during the final months of the proposed NIA project, consistent with quality improvement approaches; and b) LSS-MN will administer regular surveys to volunteers, clients, and caregivers as part of ongoing tracking and quality improvement efforts. The University of Minnesota investigators will not collect data nor administer training, as these activities will be fully integrated into the workflow of LSS-MN. [Note: Since it was learned that caregivers receiving services/affiliated with LSS-MN programming who receive surveys are for the most part not providing care to LSS-MN clients, as of fall 2024, UMN will no longer request and analyze data on LSS-MN caregivers.]

UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA INVOLVEMENT:

The University of Minnesota and collaborating investigators outside of LSS-MN will only 1) assist in survey item selection, 2) randomize the LSS-MN regions for the initial phases of the real-world trial for evaluation purposes, 3) analyze the de-identified data shared by LSS-MN, and 4) disseminate the project results in scientific, practice, and policy outlets/contexts.

Study Overview

• Status: Active, not recruiting
• Conditions: Dementia; Alzheimer Disease; Memory Loss
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: PorchLight

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 342
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
      • University of Minnesota (with Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota)

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

In keeping with the incorporation of pragmatic design elements, the eligibility criteria of volunteers and persons with AD/ADRD is deliberately lax in order to best reflect LSS-MN "routine practice." Participants must be either a volunteer or client involved in the LSS-MN standard Caregiver & Companion Program service programs. Programmatic and survey data on the volunteers, clients, and proxies involved will be shared with the UMN team. While all data received may be analyzed (see analysis section below), data analysis is expected to focus on those who meet the following additional criteria:

• Volunteers who are listed in the LSS database.
• Clients with cognitive concerns (i.e. minor confusion, memory loss, diagnosis for their memory loss, or concerns about cognition) via the LSS-MN surveys and/or the LSS-MN CRM database.

If memory loss is indicated via the database or survey, it will be assumed that the client has memory loss, even if there are discrepancies. Due to the nature of the data, we expect discrepancies to exist and will document other decisions made during analysis.

Exclusion Criteria:

As data is made available, the UMN research team expects to receive survey data from all the clients and volunteers in LSS-MN Caregiver & Companion Services programming who complete the surveys, and those included in the LSS database. Since LSS-MN administers surveys to every client and volunteer involved in their LSS-MN Caregiver & Companion program (as able), data likely will be obtained from individuals who do not meet the memory-specific criteria. However, as needed, UMN may choose to exclude one or more of the following from analysis. Again, the researcher/research staff best judgement will be used when conducting analyses and will document decisions accordingly:

● Clients who do not have memory loss

In addition, any client and volunteer can choose to not complete surveys, so we would not have survey data from those individuals, and may continue with routine attempts at surveying at the next data collection time-point. Missing surveys may be considered during analysis.

Please note: Due to the eligibility criteria for volunteers and clients in the LSS-MN program, we do not anticipate any data for those under 18 years of age. Although the real-world, pragmatic design will allow us to include caregivers under the age of 21), it is important to note that LSS-MN's most recent data on caregivers participating in their volunteer programs indicate none under the age of 21

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Crossover Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Control
Experimental: PorchLight	Other: PorchLight; The PorchLight Project intervention consists of three components: 1) CARES® Dementia Care Specialist online training modules; 2) a PorchLight Project training course; and 3) monthly check-in sessions.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Volunteer Competence [Volunteers only]	6-items assess the preparedness to provide visiting services for clients with a variety of conditions, including memory loss. This measure was designed for LSS-MN to determine the proportion of volunteers who indicate their level of preparedness.	Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months
Change in De Jong Gierveld Scale [Clients only]	6-items assessing loneliness	Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months
Change in Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System Global Health Scale [All participants]	10-items assessing physical health, mental health, and quality of life.	Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Program Cost-Effectiveness	Incremental cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) is the difference between the cost of the PorchLight Project and the usual LSS-MN Caregiver & Companion Services divided by the difference in the benefit (is the person with AD/ADRD's quality-adjusted life-years [QALYs]) between the PorchLight Project and the usual Caregiver & Companion Services.	12 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in Live Well at Home Rapid Screen [Clients only]	6-items regarding falls, caregiving, living status, and cognition	Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months
Change in Experience/impact/satisfaction related to LSS programming [All participants]	Experience/impact related to LSS programming (Volunteers: 3 quantitative, 3 open-ended items; Clients: 11 quantitative and 2 open-ended items. These items were designed for LSS-MN to assess both the proportion of participants who are satisfied with LSS programming, and to provide qualitative data about their experience.	Baseline, 6 months, and 12 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: University of Minnesota
• Collaborators: Brown University; The University of Texas at Arlington; Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 23, 2022
• Primary Completion (Estimated): October 30, 2026
• Study Completion (Estimated): October 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: August 8, 2022
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 19, 2022
• First Posted (Actual): September 22, 2022

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): December 17, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: December 9, 2025
• Last Verified: December 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Neurologic Manifestations; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurocognitive Disorders; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Signs and Symptoms; Alzheimer Disease; Dementia; Memory Disorders
• Other Study ID Numbers: STUDY00013917

Drug and device information, study documents

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