WECARE: A Behavioral Intervention for Dementia Caregivers (WECARE)

WECARE: A mHealth Intervention to Enhance Caregiving Mastery Among Chinese American Dementia Caregivers

This study aims to pilot test a culturally tailored behavioral intervention called "WECARE" to enhance caregiving mastery and improve psychosocial wellbeing of Chinese American family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia.

Study Overview

• Status: Recruiting
• Conditions: Caregiver Burden; Caregiver Stress Syndrome
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE)

Detailed Description

The investigators propose to test a culturally tailored mHealth behavioral intervention to enhance caregiving mastery and improve psychosocial wellbeing among Chinese American family caregivers of persons living with Alzheimer's Disease and related dementia. This intervention, Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE), will be delivered via WeChat, a social media app highly popular among Chinese Americans. About 45 participants will be recruited for the pilot test. Participants will complete a baseline survey, receive 7-week WECARE program on their WeChat accounts, complete a follow-up survey 12 weeks after the baseline, and then a qualitative interview on Zoom.

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 45
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Alicia Hong, PhD; Phone Number: 7039931929; Email: yhong22@gmu.edu
• Study Contact Backup: Name: Sarah Clark; Phone Number: 7039936801; Email: sclark68@gmu.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Virginia
    • Fairfax, Virginia, United States, 22030
      • Recruiting
      • George Mason University
      • Contact: Alicia Hong; Phone Number: 730-993-1929; Email: yhong22@gmu.edu

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

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

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

1. 21 years or older,
2. self-identified as Chinese or Chinese American,
3. speak and read Chinese (Mandarin or Cantonese),
4. own a smartphone and use WeChat,
5. living in Washington DC metropolitan, and
6. currently care for a family member with ADRD and provide care for at least 10 hours a week.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. do not read or speak Chinese,
2. care-recipient is in hospice care or have a life expectancy less than 6 months,
3. signs of severe intellectual deficits or psychotic disorders, or
4. unable to provide informed consent.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
• Allocation: N/A
• Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

1

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Intervention / Treatment

Experimental: WECARE; Participants will first complete a baseline survey online, then subscribe to the WECARE official account on their own WeChat accounts and begin receiving the 7-week interactive and personalized program. The program content includes short video clips, pictorial messages, and audio recordings. Each week, the WECARE program is focused on a theme aimed to increase participants' caregiving mastery, enhance self-care, and improve psychosocial wellbeing. Four weeks after the intervention or 11 weeks after the baseline, participants will complete a follow-up survey online.

Behavioral: Wellness Enhancement for Caregivers (WECARE); WECARE behavioral intervention is guided by behavioral theories aimed to increase participants' caregiving mastery, enhance self-care, and improve psychosocial wellbeing. Participants will receive multimedia content on their WeChat account on cellphone or tablet, including short video clips, pictorial messages, short articles, and audio recordings 6 days a week, for 7 weeks.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Efficacy of behavioral intervention in change from baseline in depressive symptoms	The baseline and follow-up differences in depressive symptoms will be assessed. Depressive symptoms will be measured by the CES-D, a 20-item survey instrument. The total score will be calculated to quantify depressive symptoms. The baseline and follow-up differences in the scores will be calculated.	Baseline (before the intervention) and follow-up (week 11-12, or 4-5 weeks after the intervention

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Efficacy of behavioral intervention in change from baseline in caregiving burden	The baseline and follow-up differences in caregiving burden will be assessed. Caregiving burden will be measured by the Zarit Burden Interview, a 12-item survey instrument. The total score will be calculated to quantify caregiving burden. The baseline and follow-up differences in the scores will be calculated.	Baseline (before the intervention) and follow-up (week 11-12, or 4-5 weeks after the intervention
Efficacy of behavioral intervention in change from baseline in life satisfaction	The baseline and follow-up differences in life satisfaction will be assessed. Life satisfaction will be measured by the Life Satisfaction Scale, a 5-item survey instrument. The total score will be calculated to quantify life satisfaction. The baseline and follow-up differences in the scores will be calculated.	Baseline (before the intervention) and follow-up (week 11-12, or 4-5 weeks after the intervention

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Efficacy of behavioral intervention in change from baseline in caregiving mastery	The baseline and follow-up differences in caregiving mastery will be assessed. Caregiving mastery will be measured by the Caregiving Mastery Scale, a 7-item survey instrument. The total score will be calculated to quantify caregiving mastery. The baseline and follow-up differences in the scores will be calculated.	Baseline (before the intervention) and follow-up (week 11-12, or 4-5 weeks after the intervention
Efficacy of behavioral intervention in change in care-recipient's problem behaviors	The baseline and follow-up differences in care-recipient's problem behaviors will be assessed. Care-recipient's problem behaviors will be measured by a list of 20-item problem behaviors. The total score will be calculated to quantify the number of problem behaviors. The baseline and follow-up differences in the scores will be calculated.	Baseline (before the intervention) and follow-up (week 11-12, or 4-5 weeks after the intervention

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: George Mason University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): September 25, 2023
• Primary Completion (Estimated): May 31, 2024
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 31, 2024

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: July 6, 2023
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 7, 2023
• First Posted (Actual): August 15, 2023

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): April 23, 2024
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 22, 2024
• Last Verified: April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Mental Disorders; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Stress, Psychological; Dementia; Caregiver Burden
• Other Study ID Numbers: George Mason University

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: YES
• IPD Plan Description: Given the small sample size, we will not make individual participant data available to the public.
• IPD Sharing Time Frame: After the investigators completes primary data collection and the first report from this trial is accepted for publication.
• IPD Sharing Access Criteria: Researchers will submit a request including the purpose of accessing the data and a data user agreement
• IPD Sharing Supporting Information Type: STUDY_PROTOCOL; SAP; ICF

Drug and device information, study documents

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