Abstract
BackgroundWhen a family member resides in long term care facility (LTC), family carers continue caregiving and have been found to have decreases in mental health. The aim of My Tools 4 Care – In Care (an online intervention) is to support carers of persons living with dementia residing in LTC through transitions and increase their self-efficacy, hope, social support and mental health. This article comprises the protocol for a study to evaluate My Tools 4 Care-In Care (MT4C-In Care) by asking the following research questions:Is there a 2 month (immediately post-intervention) and 4 month (2 months post-intervention) increase in mental health, general self-efficacy, social support and hope, and decrease in grief and loneliness, in carers of a person living with dementia residing in LTC using MT4C-In CARE compared to an educational control group?Do carers of persons living with dementia residing in LTC perceive My Tools 4 Care- In Care helps them with the transitions they experience?MethodsThis study is a single blinded pragmatic mixed methods randomized controlled trial. Approximately 280 family carers of older persons (65 years of age and older) with dementia residing in LTC will be recruited for this study. Data will be collected at three time points: baseline, 2 month, and 4 months. Based on the feasibility study, we hypothesize that participants using MT4C-In Care will report significant increases in hope, general self-efficacy, social support and mental health quality of life, and significant decreases in grief and loneliness from baseline, as compared to an educational control group. To determine differences between groups and over time, generalized estimating equations analysis will be used. Qualitative descriptive analysis will be used to further evaluate MT4C-In Care and if it supports carers through transitions.DiscussionData collection will begin in four Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Saskatchewan) in February 2020 and is expected to be completed in June 2021. The results will inform policy and practice as MT4C-In Care can be revised for local contexts and posted on websites such as those hosted by the Alzheimer Society of Canada.Trial registrationNCT04226872 ClinicalTrials.gov Registered 09 January 2020Protocol Version #2 Feb 19, 2020.
Highlights
When a family member resides in long term care facility (LTC), family carers continue caregiving and have been found to have decreases in mental health
The results will inform policy and practice as MT4CIn Care can be revised for local contexts and posted on websites such as those hosted by the Alzheimer Society of Canada
The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether use of My Tools 4 Care (MT4C)-In Care over 2 months is effective to decrease loneliness and grief, and increase hope, general selfefficacy, social support and mental health as compared to an educational control group
Summary
When a family member resides in long term care facility (LTC), family carers continue caregiving and have been found to have decreases in mental health. Family and friend carers (hereafter referred to as ‘carers’) are challenged to cope with the many transitions that occur across all stages of dementia. For these carers, transitions involve learning new tasks, making significant adaptations to the physical and/or social environment, and changing their roles and relationships [2]. Little is known about the transition experience, support needs, and effective interventions for carers after their family member with dementia moves to a 24-h long-term care (LTC) community [4, 5]. Hope, confidence in the ability to deal with difficult situations or self-efficacy, and social support can improve their mental health
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