ED PLWD/Care Partner Text Messaging (CAPTURE)

Development and Pilot Testing of a Novel Text Messaging Intervention to Improve Emergency Department Care Transitions Among Care Partners of Persons Living With Cognitive Impairment

The purpose of this research study is to develop and test a text-messaging intervention for emergency department (ED) discharge care transitions experienced by caregivers of older adults with cognitive impairment.

Study Overview

• Status: Not yet recruiting
• Conditions: Dementia; Emergency Department; Caregiver; Mobile Health Technology (mHealth)
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: CAPTURE Text Message Care Transition Support

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Estimated): 80
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

• Study Contact: Name: Cameron Gettel; Phone Number: 2037374842; Email: cameron.gettel@yale.edu

Study Locations

• United States
  • Connecticut
    • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06520
      • Yale New Haven Hospital Emergency Departments

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult; Older Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Care partners (family members or close contacts) of persons living with cognitive impairment (PLWCI) who were evaluated and discharged from the emergency department (ED)
• Age 18 years or older
• Able to read and understand English or Spanish
• Owns a mobile phone capable of receiving SMS text messages
• Provides informed consent to participate in the study
• Care recipient (PLWCI) resides in a community setting (i.e., not in a long-term care facility)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Care partner of a patient who is admitted to the hospital from the ED or transferred to a facility (e.g., skilled nursing facility)
• Care partner who is already enrolled in another caregiving support trial or intervention study
• Care partner who does not have regular access to a mobile phone with SMS capabilities
• Care partner who is unable or unwilling to participate in follow-up over 30 days
• Care partner of a patient enrolled in hospice or receiving end-of-life care

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

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

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention; Participants in the intervention arm will receive the CAPTURE intervention, a tailored, automated text messaging program designed to support care partners of persons living with cognitive impairment (PLWCI) during the 30 days following an emergency department (ED) discharge. The intervention delivers up to two daily SMS messages focused on caregiving tips, care transition guidance, emotional support, and links to trusted resources. Messages are personalized based on caregiver needs identified at baseline and are designed to be brief, accessible, and actionable. Content was developed using a user-centered design approach with input from caregivers and clinicians. Participants will also complete a baseline and 30-day follow-up survey to assess caregiver preparedness, usability, satisfaction, and engagement.	Behavioral: CAPTURE Text Message Care Transition Support; The CAPTURE intervention is a tailored, automated text messaging program designed to support care partners of persons living with cognitive impairment (PLWCI) during the 30-day period following an emergency department (ED) visit. It provides up to two messages per day, customized based on caregiver-identified needs, and addresses topics such as care transition guidance, symptom monitoring, caregiver well-being, community resources, and communication strategies. The content is evidence-informed and was developed through a user-centered design process involving caregivers and clinician stakeholders. Unlike generic text messaging interventions, CAPTURE specifically targets caregiver support needs in the acute post-ED setting for PLWCI.
No Intervention: Control; Participants in the control arm will receive usual care following the emergency department (ED) discharge of the person living with cognitive impairment (PLWCI). Usual care may include standard discharge instructions provided by ED staff, referrals to outpatient services, and any follow-up arranged as part of routine clinical practice. No additional caregiver-specific interventions or text messaging support will be provided by the study team. Participants in this arm will complete a baseline and 30-day follow-up survey to assess caregiver preparedness, usability, satisfaction, and engagement for comparison with the intervention arm.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Enrollment rates	Enrollment rate will be used to assess Feasibility.	30 days after ED visit
Message engagement	Message engagement, assessed via text message response and interaction metrics, will be used to assess Feasibility. Engagement will be operationalized through quantitative metrics including (1) the number of text messages delivered, (2) the number and proportion of text messages that received responses from care partners, (3) the time-to-response for interactive messages, and (4) the number of unique interactions per participant over the 30-day intervention period. These metrics will be captured via backend system logs of the text messaging platform used to deliver the intervention.	30 days after ED visit
Retention rate	Participant retention at 30 days post-enrollment, assessed through completion of final follow-up assessment Retention is defined as the proportion of enrolled care partners who remain active in the study and complete the 30-day follow-up assessment. Completion is operationalized as successfully providing outcome data through a structured telephone-based survey at the end of the 30-day intervention period. This includes response to caregiver-reported outcome measures collected by the research team (e.g., burden, satisfaction, preparedness). Retention rate will be calculated as a percentage: (# of participants who complete the 30-day follow-up ÷ total number enrolled) × 100. Participants lost to follow-up or who withdraw consent prior to completing the final assessment will be considered non-retained.	30 days after ED visit
System Usability Scale (SUS)	The System Usability Scale (SUS) will be used to assess the usability of the CAPTURE text message intervention. The SUS is a validated 10-item questionnaire that measures perceived ease of use, efficiency, and satisfaction with a digital system. Each item is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree), and item scores are converted to yield a total score ranging from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better usability. The SUS total score will be calculated for each participant at the 30-day follow-up. Mean and distributional statistics will be reported for the intervention group.	30 days after ED visit
Acceptability	Acceptability of the CAPTURE text message intervention will be assessed through a structured participant satisfaction survey and open-ended qualitative feedback. The survey includes multiple items rated on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 5 (Strongly Agree), with higher scores indicating greater acceptability and satisfaction. Domains assessed include overall satisfaction, perceived helpfulness, relevance, and willingness to recommend the intervention to others. In addition, participants will be invited to provide brief qualitative comments via open-ended items assessing their experience and suggestions for improvement. Quantitative results will be summarized using descriptive statistics, and qualitative feedback will be analyzed using thematic content analysis.	30 days after ED visit

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Preparedness for Caregiving Scale	Preparedness for Caregiving Scale to assess Care partner preparedness. Total score range 0 to 32. Higher scores indicate greater perceived readiness for caregiving.	30 days after ED visit
Zarit Burden Interview score	Zarit Burden Interview, self-efficacy scales used to assess Emotional well-being and burden. Total score 0-88, higher scores indicate more severe burden.	30 days after ED visit
Emergency Department revisits and hospitalizations	Return healthcare utilization assessed as mean number ED revisits	30 days after ED visit

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Yale University
• Collaborators: National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Cameron Gettel, Yale University

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Estimated): March 1, 2027
• Primary Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2030
• Study Completion (Estimated): June 30, 2030

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: September 24, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 17, 2026
• First Posted (Actual): February 20, 2026

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 23, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 19, 2026
• Last Verified: February 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Disease Attributes; Neurocognitive Disorders; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Emergencies; Dementia
• Other Study ID Numbers: 2000040692; RFA-AG-24-015 (Other Grant/Funding Number: National Institute on Aging); 1K76AG094954-01 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

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