Web-Based Psychoeducation for Dementia Caregivers

July 8, 2026 updated by: Shan-Hua Chen, Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital

A Web-Based Psychoeducation and Symptom-Monitoring Program to Enhance Dementia Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Managing BPSD

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), such as agitation, anxiety, depression, sleep disturbance, and apathy, are common among people with dementia and often increase the burden on family caregivers. Many caregivers have limited knowledge and confidence in managing these symptoms.

This study aims to evaluate the effectiveness of a 6-week web-based psychoeducation and BPSD symptom-monitoring program in improving caregivers' self-efficacy in managing BPSD. Community-dwelling family caregivers of people with dementia will be recruited from the neurology outpatient clinic of Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital in Taiwan.

Participants will be assigned sequentially to either an intervention group receiving web-based psychoeducation, BPSD symptom monitoring, and usual care, or a control group receiving usual care alone. The primary outcome is caregiver self-efficacy. Secondary outcomes include BPSD severity and caregiver burden.

Study Overview

Status

Recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) affect most people living with dementia during the course of the disease and are associated with increased caregiver burden, psychological distress, and reduced quality of life. Family caregivers frequently experience difficulties in recognizing BPSD, identifying possible triggers, and applying appropriate management strategies. Although web-based psychoeducation has shown potential benefits for dementia caregivers, evidence regarding its effectiveness in improving caregiver self-efficacy through the integration of structured symptom monitoring remains limited.

This study will evaluate a six-week web-based psychoeducation and BPSD symptom-monitoring program developed for family caregivers of community-dwelling people with dementia. The intervention is delivered through an AppSheet-based online platform and includes six educational modules, BPSD symptom diary recording based on the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q), weekly reminders, and online support when needed. Educational topics include understanding dementia and BPSD, symptom recognition, communication strategies, daily care, caregiver self-care, and community support resources.

This study uses a quasi-experimental two-group pretest-posttest parallel design. Approximately 80 family caregivers will be recruited from the neurology outpatient clinic of Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital, Taiwan. Participants will be assigned sequentially in alternating order to either the intervention group or the usual care control group.

Outcome assessments will be conducted at baseline (Week 0) and immediately after the six-week intervention (Week 6) for both groups. Participants in the intervention group will additionally complete a follow-up assessment at Week 10 to evaluate maintenance of intervention effects.

The primary outcome is caregiver self-efficacy measured using the Revised Scale for Caregiving Self-Efficacy (RSCSE). Secondary outcomes include BPSD severity measured using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q) and caregiver burden measured using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI-22).

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

80

Phase

  • Not Applicable

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 Locations

  • Taiwan
    • Yilan County
      • Luodong, Yilan County, Taiwan, 265
        • Recruiting
        • Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital
        • Contact:
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Shan-Hua Chen

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

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  1. Family caregivers aged 20 to 90 years.
  2. The primary caregiver of a community-dwelling person diagnosed with dementia.
  3. Able to read and understand Chinese.
  4. Able to use a smartphone, tablet, or computer with Internet access.
  5. Willing to provide written informed consent and comply with study procedures.

Exclusion Criteria:

  1. Caregivers of persons with dementia who reside in a long-term care institution.
  2. Unable to complete study procedures because of cognitive, physical, or communication impairment.
  3. Currently participating in another intervention study that may influence the study outcomes.

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

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

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Intervention Group
Participants receive a 6-week web-based psychoeducation and symptom-monitoring program in addition to usual care. The intervention includes six web-based educational modules, BPSD symptom monitoring, weekly reminders, and online consultation when needed.
Behavioral: Web-Based Psychoeducation and Symptom-Monitoring Program
Participants assigned to the intervention group receive a 6-week web-based psychoeducation and symptom-monitoring program in addition to usual care. The program includes six web-based educational modules on dementia care, BPSD symptom monitoring, weekly reminders to support engagement, and online consultation with the research team when needed. The intervention is designed to improve caregiver self-efficacy in managing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia.
No Intervention: Control Group
Participants receive usual care without access to the web-based psychoeducation and symptom-monitoring program during the study period.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Caregiver Self-Efficacy in Managing Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 6
Caregiver self-efficacy will be assessed using the Revised Scale for Caregiving Self-Efficacy (RSCSE). The primary outcome is the change in caregiver self-efficacy from baseline to Week 6 between the intervention and control groups.
Baseline and Week 6

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 6
Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia will be assessed using the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire (NPI-Q). The secondary outcome is the change in symptom severity and caregiver distress from baseline to Week 6 between the intervention and control groups.
Baseline and Week 6
Caregiver Burden
Time Frame: Baseline and Week 6
Caregiver burden will be assessed using the 22-item Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI-22). The secondary outcome is the change in caregiver burden from baseline to Week 6 between the intervention and control groups.
Baseline and Week 6

Collaborators and Investigators

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

Sponsor

Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Shan-Hua Chen, Lotung Poh-Ai Hospital

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

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 (Estimated)

July 8, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2027

Study Completion (Estimated)

May 1, 2027

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

July 1, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 1, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

July 8, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

July 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 8, 2026

Last Verified

July 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • LOPAH-BPSD-2026-01

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

IPD Plan Description

No individual participant data will be shared because informed consent does not include permission for data sharing outside this study.

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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