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Mobile Health Application for Family Caregivers in Home Palliative Care (CARE-Mobile)

24 juillet 2026 mis à jour par: Kutahya Health Sciences University

Effectiveness of a Mobile Health Application for Family Caregivers of Patients Receiving Home Palliative Care: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Family caregivers play a central role in providing daily care for patients receiving home palliative care. However, caregiving responsibilities may lead to increased burden, stress, and difficulties in symptom management and care coordination. Mobile health (mHealth) interventions may provide accessible education, symptom monitoring, and decision-support resources to improve caregiver outcomes and patient care.

The aim of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of a mobile health application developed for family caregivers of patients receiving home palliative care. The primary outcome is caregiver competence. Secondary outcomes include caregiver burden, self-efficacy, patient symptom burden, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations.

A total of 120 family caregivers will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group, which will use the mobile health application for 6 weeks in addition to usual care, or the control group, which will receive usual care alone. Outcomes will be assessed at baseline, post-intervention (Week 6), and follow-up (Week 18).

Aperçu de l'étude

Statut

Recrutement

Les conditions

Intervention / Traitement

Description détaillée

Home palliative care services increasingly rely on family caregivers to provide symptom management, daily care, medication support, and coordination of healthcare services. Although family caregivers play a critical role in maintaining patient well-being, they frequently experience caregiving burden, psychological distress, and challenges in managing complex care needs. Strengthening caregiver competence and self-management skills may improve both caregiver and patient outcomes.

Mobile health technologies offer an opportunity to deliver structured educational and supportive interventions independent of time and location. Despite growing interest in digital health interventions, evidence regarding mobile applications specifically designed for family caregivers in home palliative care remains limited.

This study is a single-center, parallel-group, randomized controlled trial conducted at the Home Care Unit of Simav Doc. Dr. Ismail Karakuyu State Hospital, Kutahya, Türkiye. A total of 120 family caregivers of patients receiving home palliative care will be recruited and randomly allocated in a 1:1 ratio to either an intervention group or a control group.

Participants in the intervention group will receive access to a mobile health application developed for family caregivers. The application includes educational modules on palliative care and symptom management, daily care skills, medication management, nutrition and hygiene, prevention of pressure injuries, caregiver self-care, stress management, problem-solving, and decision-making regarding healthcare utilization. Participants will receive a brief orientation session and will use the application for 6 weeks. Application usage data will be recorded to assess intervention adherence.

Participants in the control group will continue to receive routine home palliative care services without access to the mobile application.

The primary outcome is caregiver competence, measured using the Care Competency Scale for Family Caregivers in Home Palliative Care. Secondary outcomes include caregiver burden, caregiver self-efficacy, patient symptom burden, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations. Assessments will be conducted at baseline (Week 0), immediately after the intervention period (Week 6), and at follow-up (Week 18).

The study is expected to provide evidence regarding the effectiveness of a mobile health intervention for improving caregiver competence and supporting patient care in home palliative care settings.

Type d'étude

Interventionnel

Inscription (Estimé)

120

Phase

  • N'est pas applicable

Contacts et emplacements

Cette section fournit les coordonnées de ceux qui mènent l'étude et des informations sur le lieu où cette étude est menée.

Coordonnées de l'étude

Lieux d'étude

  • Turquie (Türkiye)
    • Kütahya
      • Simav, Kütahya, Turquie (Türkiye), 43500
        • Recrutement
        • Simav Doc. Dr. Ismail Karakuyu State Hospital
        • Contact:

Critères de participation

Les chercheurs recherchent des personnes qui correspondent à une certaine description, appelée critères d'éligibilité. Certains exemples de ces critères sont l'état de santé général d'une personne ou des traitements antérieurs.

Critère d'éligibilité

Âges éligibles pour étudier

  • Adulte
  • Adulte plus âgé

Accepte les volontaires sains

Non

La description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Family caregiver of a patient receiving home palliative care services.
  • Aged 18 years or older.
  • Providing unpaid care to the patient for at least 3 months.
  • Able to read and understand Turkish.
  • Owns or has regular access to a smartphone compatible with the mobile application.
  • Willing to participate and provide written informed consent.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Professional or paid caregivers.
  • Participation in another structured caregiver support program during the study period.
  • Cognitive, visual, or hearing impairments that would prevent effective use of the mobile application.
  • Inability to complete study assessments.
  • Withdrawal of consent at any stage of the study.

Plan d'étude

Cette section fournit des détails sur le plan d'étude, y compris la façon dont l'étude est conçue et ce que l'étude mesure.

Comment l'étude est-elle conçue ?

Détails de conception

  • Objectif principal: Soins de soutien
  • Répartition: Randomisé
  • Modèle interventionnel: Affectation parallèle
  • Masquage: Aucun (étiquette ouverte)

Armes et Interventions

Groupe de participants / Bras
Intervention / Traitement
Expérimental: Mobile Health Application Plus Usual Care
Participants will receive access to a mobile health application designed for family caregivers of patients receiving home palliative care in addition to routine home palliative care services. The intervention will be delivered for 6 weeks and includes educational content, symptom management support, caregiver self-care resources, medication management guidance, and healthcare utilization decision support.
Comportemental: Mobile Health Application
Participants in the intervention group will receive access to a mobile health application developed for family caregivers of patients receiving home palliative care. The application includes educational modules on palliative care and symptom management, daily care skills, medication management, nutrition and hygiene, pressure injury prevention, caregiver self-care, stress management, problem-solving, and healthcare utilization decision support. Participants will use the application for 6 weeks in addition to routine home palliative care services.
Aucune intervention: Usual Care Alone
Participants will receive routine home palliative care services provided by the home care unit. No mobile health application or additional structured intervention will be provided during the study period.

Que mesure l'étude ?

Principaux critères de jugement

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Care Competency Scale for Family Caregivers in Home Palliative Care
Délai: Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and follow-up at 18 weeks
Caregiver competence will be assessed using the Care Competency Scale for Family Caregivers in Home Palliative Care. The scale consists of 29 items scored on a 1-5 Likert scale and evaluates caregiving knowledge, skills, preparedness, relational competence, emotional competence, and support-seeking competence. Total scores range from 29 to 145, with higher scores indicating greater caregiver competence.
Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and follow-up at 18 weeks

Mesures de résultats secondaires

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Zarit Burden Interview
Délai: Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and follow-up at 18 weeks
Caregiver burden will be assessed using the Zarit Burden Interview. The scale consists of 22 items scored on a 5-point Likert scale. Total scores range from 0 to 88, with higher scores indicating greater caregiver burden.
Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and follow-up at 18 weeks
General Self-Efficacy Scale
Délai: Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and follow-up at 18 weeks
Caregiver self-efficacy will be assessed using the General Self-Efficacy Scale. The scale consists of 10 items scored on a 4-point Likert scale. Total scores range from 10 to 40, with higher scores indicating greater self-efficacy.
Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and follow-up at 18 weeks
Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS) - Proxy Version
Délai: Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and follow-up at 18 weeks
Patient symptom burden will be assessed using the proxy version of the Integrated Palliative Care Outcome Scale (IPOS). The scale evaluates physical symptoms, emotional concerns, communication, and practical needs. Total scores range from 0 to 68, with higher scores indicating greater symptom burden and unmet needs.
Baseline, post-intervention at 6 weeks, and follow-up at 18 weeks
Emergency Department Visits
Délai: During the 18-week study period
Emergency department visits will be assessed as the number of emergency department admissions occurring during the study period. Higher values indicate greater healthcare utilization.
During the 18-week study period
Hospitalizations
Délai: During the 18-week study period
Hospitalizations will be assessed as the number of inpatient hospital admissions occurring during the study period. Higher values indicate greater healthcare utilization.
During the 18-week study period

Autres mesures de résultats

Mesure des résultats
Description de la mesure
Délai
Mobile Application Login Frequency
Délai: During the 6-week intervention period
The total number of application logins during the intervention period will be recorded using system-generated log data. Higher values indicate more frequent use of the mobile application.
During the 6-week intervention period
Mobile Application Use Duration
Délai: During the 6-week intervention period
The total duration of application use, measured in minutes, will be recorded using system-generated log data during the intervention period. Higher values indicate greater use of the mobile application.
During the 6-week intervention period
Educational Module Completion Rate
Délai: During the 6-week intervention period
The percentage of educational modules completed during the intervention period will be recorded using system-generated log data. Higher percentages indicate greater adherence to the educational intervention.
During the 6-week intervention period
Monitoring Activity Completion Rate
Délai: During the 6-week intervention period
The percentage of scheduled monitoring activities completed during the intervention period will be recorded using the Mobile Application Usage and Monitoring Form and system-generated log data. Higher percentages indicate greater adherence to monitoring activities.
During the 6-week intervention period

Collaborateurs et enquêteurs

C'est ici que vous trouverez les personnes et les organisations impliquées dans cette étude.

Parrainer

Kutahya Health Sciences University

Publications et liens utiles

La personne responsable de la saisie des informations sur l'étude fournit volontairement ces publications. Il peut s'agir de tout ce qui concerne l'étude.

Publications générales

Dates d'enregistrement des études

Ces dates suivent la progression des dossiers d'étude et des soumissions de résultats sommaires à ClinicalTrials.gov. Les dossiers d'étude et les résultats rapportés sont examinés par la Bibliothèque nationale de médecine (NLM) pour s'assurer qu'ils répondent à des normes de contrôle de qualité spécifiques avant d'être publiés sur le site Web public.

Dates principales de l'étude

Début de l'étude (Réel)

10 juin 2026

Achèvement primaire (Estimé)

30 octobre 2026

Achèvement de l'étude (Estimé)

30 octobre 2026

Dates d'inscription aux études

Première soumission

12 juin 2026

Première soumission répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

12 juin 2026

Première publication (Réel)

17 juin 2026

Mises à jour des dossiers d'étude

Dernière mise à jour publiée (Réel)

27 juillet 2026

Dernière mise à jour soumise répondant aux critères de contrôle qualité

24 juillet 2026

Dernière vérification

1 juin 2026

Plus d'information

Termes liés à cette étude

Mots clés

Termes MeSH pertinents supplémentaires

Autres numéros d'identification d'étude

  • KSBU-MHEALTH-PC-2026-01

Plan pour les données individuelles des participants (IPD)

Prévoyez-vous de partager les données individuelles des participants (DPI) ?

NON

Description du régime IPD

Individual participant data collected during the study will not be made publicly available.

Informations sur les médicaments et les dispositifs, documents d'étude

Étudie un produit pharmaceutique réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Étudie un produit d'appareil réglementé par la FDA américaine

Non

Ces informations ont été extraites directement du site Web clinicaltrials.gov sans aucune modification. Si vous avez des demandes de modification, de suppression ou de mise à jour des détails de votre étude, veuillez contacter register@clinicaltrials.gov. Dès qu'un changement est mis en œuvre sur clinicaltrials.gov, il sera également mis à jour automatiquement sur notre site Web .

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