Providing Grandchild Care in Later Life

April 18, 2026 updated by: Meris Esra Bozkurt, Mersin University

Providing Grandchild Care in Later Life: Associations With Frailty, Depression, and Self-Neglect in Geriatric Outpatients

Grandchild care is a modern global phenomenon arising from increased life expectancy , and, correlated with the rest of the world, the Turkish Statistical Institute's report on aging states that the prevalence of grandchild caregiving in Türkiye is 9.7% . Therefore, the health impacts of grandchild caregiving on older adults are attracting increasing attention. Various studies have shown that grandchild caregiving has both potential benefits and burdens for older individuals. While caregiving can provide physical activity, purpose, and emotional rewards, it can also create stress, reduce autonomy, and limit social participation and self-care, which is a significant determinant of healthy aging. Frailty, a multidimensional geriatric syndrome, is associated with disability, hospitalization, and death and is potentially reversible if diagnosed early. Furthermore, depression is another significant geriatric syndrome in the elderly and is associated with mortality; although various studies have shown that grandchild caregiving reduces depressive symptoms, some have found no association between grandchild caregiving and depression. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship between grandchild care and frailty, depression, and self-neglect in patients presenting to geriatrics outpatients

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Individuals aged 60 and over who apply to the Mersin University Geriatric Outpatient between March 15, 2026 and June 1, 2026, and who have received a comprehensive geriatric assessment including information on gender, marital status, medication, and illnesses; A prospective observational study is planned with 68 female and 68 male patients who can answer the daily living activities and instrumental daily living activities questionnaires, and who can answer the relevant questionnaire questions within the scope of frailty (FRAIL) and depression (geriatric depression scale (GDS)) screenings; have height and weight measurements; and consent to participate in the study. Given that the prevalence of giving birth to grandchildren in Türkiye is 9.7%, and applying the 'sample size for a single proportion' formula (n = Z²[p(1-p)]/d²) with a 95% confidence level (Z=1.96) and a 5% absolute margin of error, it was found that a minimum of 136 participants is required. The anthropometric measurements and questionnaire results of the patients will be examined prospectively through observation.

Study Type

Observational

Enrollment (Estimated)

138

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact Backup

Study Locations

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Sampling Method

Probability Sample

Study Population

Sample size calculation was done according to the prevalence of giving grandchild care, which is one of the basic parameters of the study. It has been reported that this prevalence is 9.7% in Türkiye [1]. When the 'sample size for one proportion' formula (n = Z²[p(1-p)]/d²) was applied with a 95% confidence level (Z=1.96) and a 5% absolute margin of error, a minimum of 136 participants was found. References

[1]https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Istatistiklerle-Yaslilar-2024-54079

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Patients who apply to the geriatrics outpatient clinic of Mersin University Faculty of Medicine
  • Patients aged 60 and over
  • Patients who had information about gender, marital status, medication and disease, who could answer the questions about activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, and who could answer the relevant questionnaire questions within the scope of frailty (FRAIL) depression (Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) screenings; and whose height, weight, and measurements were available
  • Patients who consented to participate in the study

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Patients under sixty years of age
  • Patients who did not apply to the geriatrics outpatient clinic of Mersin University Faculty of Medicine
  • Patients who did not have information about gender, marital status, medication and disease, who could not answer the questions about activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living, and who could not answer the relevant questionnaire questions within the scope of frailty (FRAIL) depression (geriatric depression scale (GDS)) screenings; patients whose height, weight, and measurements were not available
  • Patients who did not consent to participate in the study
  • Individuals who applied to the geriatrics outpatient clinic outside of the specified dates
  • Advanced stage dementia
  • Physically incapable of caring for grandchildren

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
Intervention / Treatment
grandchild caregivers,
As part of a comprehensive geriatric assessment, questions will be asked about whether the individual provides grandchild care, gender, marital status, income level, information on medications and illnesses, daily living activities and instrumental daily living activities will be assessed, and relevant questionnaires will be used for frailty (FRAIL), depression (Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)), and self-neglect screenings; height and weight measurements will also be taken.
Other: Providing grandchild care in old age reduces frailty, depression, and self-care neglect in geriatric outpatients.in Geriatric Outpatients"
Providing Grandchild Care in Later Life: Associations with Frailty, Depression, and Self-Neglect in Geriatric Outpatients"
Other Names:
  • Failure to provide grandchild care in old age increases frailty, depression, and self-care neglect in geriatric outpatients.
non-caregivers,
As part of a comprehensive geriatric assessment, questions will be asked about whether the individual provides grandchild care, gender, marital status, income level, information on medications and illnesses, daily living activities and instrumental daily living activities will be assessed, and relevant questionnaires will be used for frailty (FRAIL), depression (Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)), and self-neglect screenings; height and weight measurements will also be taken.
Other: Providing grandchild care in old age reduces frailty, depression, and self-care neglect in geriatric outpatients.in Geriatric Outpatients"
Providing Grandchild Care in Later Life: Associations with Frailty, Depression, and Self-Neglect in Geriatric Outpatients"
Other Names:
  • Failure to provide grandchild care in old age increases frailty, depression, and self-care neglect in geriatric outpatients.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Providing Grandchild Care in Later Life: Correlations with Frailty, Depression, and Self-Neglect in Geriatric Outpatients"
Time Frame: 3 months
Frailty will be assessed by a score of 3 or higher on the 5-item FRAIL questionnaire. Depression will be assessed by a score of 5 or higher on the 15-item Geriatric Depression Scale. Self-care neglect will be assessed by a score of 7 or lower on the 11-item Istanbul University Self-Care Neglect Scale for the Elderly.
3 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Mersin University

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Meris E Bozkurt, M.D., Mersin University

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

March 30, 2026

Primary Completion (Actual)

April 16, 2026

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 30, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

March 11, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

March 26, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

March 30, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

April 21, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

April 18, 2026

Last Verified

April 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • 2026/099

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

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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