Abstract
BackgroundThere is an urgent need for psychosocial interventions that effectively support dementia caregivers in daily life. The Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM) offers the possibility to provide a more dynamic view of caregiver functioning. ESM-derived feedback may help to redirect caregivers’ behavior towards situations that elicit positive emotions and to increase their feelings of competence in the caretaking process. This paper presents the design of a study that evaluates the process characteristics and effects of the ESM-based intervention ‘Partner in Sight’.Methods/designA randomized controlled trial with 90 spousal caregivers of people with dementia will be conducted. Participants will be randomly assigned to the experimental (6-week ESM intervention including feedback), pseudo-experimental (6-week ESM intervention without feedback), or control group (care as usual). Assessments will be performed pre- and post-intervention and at 2-, and 6-month follow-up. Main outcomes will be sense of competence, perceived control, momentary positive affect, and psychological complaints (depressive symptoms, perceived stress, anxiety, momentary negative affect). In addition to the effect evaluation, a process and economic evaluation will be conducted to investigate the credibility and generalizability of the intervention, and its cost-effectiveness.DiscussionThe potential effects of the ESM intervention may help caregivers to endure their care responsibilities and prevent them from becoming overburdened. This is the first ESM intervention for caregivers of people with dementia. The results of this study, therefore, provide a valuable contribution to the growing knowledge on m-health interventions for dementia caregivers.Trial registrationDutch Trial Register NTR4847; date registered Oct 9, 2014.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12888-016-0834-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.
Highlights
There is an urgent need for psychosocial interventions that effectively support dementia caregivers in daily life
Exclusion criteria will be: insufficient cognitive abilities to engage in Experience Sampling Methodology (ESM); being overburdened or having severe health problems based on clinical judgment of a knowledgeable practitioner; taking care for a people with dementia (PwD) caused by Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV), acquired brain injury, Down syndrome, chorea related to Huntington’s disease or alcohol abuse
ESM might be a promising tool in both research and clinical practice, since it offers the possibility to provide more detailed information on caregiver functioning in the flow of daily life
Summary
There is an urgent need for psychosocial interventions that effectively support dementia caregivers in daily life. Caregivers of people with dementia (PwD) are at great risk of becoming overburdened and of developing psychological and physical symptoms during the caretaking process [1]. This calls for psychosocial interventions that effectively support caregivers of PwD in daily life and help them handling their care responsibilities. Various psycho-social interventions have been developed in recent years for caregivers of PwD, including psycho-education, emotional support, practical assistance, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and multi-component interventions [2]. Retrospective methods do not provide information about fluctuations in subjective experiences over time and across situations that caregivers of PwD may face due to the continually changing care demands
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