Self-Care Training for Family Caregivers of Persons With Neurodegeneration

Condition(s) studied

Investigational drug(s) / intervention(s)

Mindfulness Meditation: 8-week mindfulness meditation program, based on Kabat-Zinn's MBSR program and modified for caregivers. The intervention will be led by MBSR-trained facilitators.

Psychoeducation: A lecture-style program based on the "10 Keys"TM to Healthy Aging Course, an evidence-based program for older adults. The program will be delivered by a facilitator experienced in delivering similar content.

Wait list control: Participants will receive two hours of respite from their caregiving responsibilities per week, for eight weeks. They will be given the opportunity to participate in either the MM or the PSY condition following completion of testing.

Study summary

The purpose of this study is to assess whether an 8-week mindfulness program enhances psychological well-being (e.g., stress, depressive symptoms), biological indicators of stress (e.g., inflammation), and cognitive function (e.g., attentional ability) in primary family caregivers of persons with dementia or a related neurodegenerative disease. A total of 232 primary family caregivers aged 50+ years of age will be recruited for this study and randomized to one of three groups: mindfulness meditation (MM), psychoeducation (PSY) or caregiver respite (CR). All participants will complete three testing sessions: baseline (pre-intervention \[T1\]), post 8-week follow-up (post-intervention, \[T2\]), and 12-month follow-up (T3).

Eligibility

Primary outcome measure(s)

• Perceived Stress Scale — Baseline, post-intervention (within 1 week following intervention completion), 12-month follow-up.
  10-item Likert-type scale that measured level of distress in the past month. The questionnaire will be modified to cover the past 2 weeks. Higher scores (range 0-40) indicate greater perceived stress.
• Center for Epidemiological Studies - Depression — Baseline, post-intervention (within 1 week following intervention completion), 12-month follow-up.
  A 20-item Likert-type questionnaire that measures presence of depressive symptoms in the past week. Higher scores (range 0-60) indicate greater depressive symptoms.

Trial sites (1)

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