Developing and Testing a Brief Mindfulness Just-in-time Adaptive Intervention for Reducing Stress of Dementia Caregivers

Experimental: Grupo 2

Conductual: Group 2 - Receptivity

In the second phase, the receptivity of the brief mindfulness intervention will be examined within a just-in-time adaptive intervention (JITAI) framework, comprising distal outcomes, a proximal outcome (engagement with the brief intervention), decision points, intervention options (which notification-delivery model is applied), a tailoring variable (predicted receptivity), and decision rules. In the first four days, as in the first phase, participants will be interviewed with a structured questionnaire and will receive a four-day psycho-education intervention. Over the subsequent 14-day micro-randomized trial (Day 5 to Day 18), notification-delivery models will be randomized at scheduled daily decision points. From Day 5 to Day 11, prompts will be delivered by either a random or a static machine-learning model with equal probability; from Day 12 to Day 18, prompts will be delivered by a random, static, or adaptive machine-learning model with equal probability, with the adaptive model u

Experimental: Grupo 1

Conductual: Group 1 - Vulnerability

In the first phase of the study, participants will be interviewed by a research assistant over the phone with a structured questionnaire on the first day of the study period. They will then receive a four-day psycho-education intervention, during which the study application will be installed on their smartphone. At the end of the fourth day, participants will be asked to use the app for the following 16 days of the micro-randomized trial (MRT). In the 16-day MRT (Day 5 to Day 20), zero to six ecological momentary assessments (EMAs), separated by at least 30 minutes, will be delivered each day (from one hour after self-reported wake time to one hour before self-reported sleep time) to classify whether the participant is probably-stressed or probably-not-stressed using a single stress item. Immediately following each EMA, participants will be randomized to receive a brief mindfulness intervention prompt or no prompt, with randomization occurring only if no brief mindfulness intervention

Perceived Stress

14-item perceived stress scale. Items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0-56,with higher scores indicating greater perceived stress.

Depressive Symptoms

Patient health questionnaire 9, items are rated on a 4-point scale, ranging from 0 to 27, with higher scores reflecting greater depression severity.

caregiving burden

12-item Zarit Burden Interview, items are rated on a 5-point scale, ranging from 0-48, with higher scores denoting greater burden.

Positive Aspect of Caregiving

Positive Aspects of Caregiving Scale, items are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 9-45, with higher scores indicating a more positive appraisal

sleep quality

Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, score ranging from 0-21, with higher scores indicate poorer sleep quality.

quality of life

EuroQoL 5-Dimension 5-Level measures across 5 domains (mobility, self-care, usual activities, pain or discomfort, and anxiety or depression), score ranging from 0-100, higher scores reflect better health-related quality of life.

Mindfulness

15-item Mindful Attention Awareness Scale, items are rated on a 6-point scale, score ranging from 1-6, with higher scores indicating greater dispositional mindfulness.

Prompt-Specific Questions

app backend records of post-prompt engagement with the brief intervention, including just-in-time response (engagement within the just-in-time window) and response delay; and single-item ecological momentary assessment ratings of stress, positive mood, and negative mood administered immediately following each completed intervention

feasibility and acceptability rate of the app

mindfulness intervention specific questions