Overview
The purpose of this study is to evaluate an online platform -- the Living Memory Home for Dementia Care Pairs (LMH-4-DCP) for persons with dementia and their family caregivers to engage in reminiscence activities together and record meaningful memories.
The main aims of this study are:
- To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the LMH-4-DCP platform.
- To explore the potential for LMH-4-DCP to reduce feelings of pre-loss grief and enhancing relationship quality in dementia family caregivers and their care-recipients ('Care-Pairs')
Care pair participants will be asked to log-in to LMH-4-DCP and complete study activities three times per week for two weeks. Researchers will compare the intervention group to an attention control condition to see if LMH-4-DCP's use is associated with reduced feelings of caregiver pre-loss grief and improved care pair relationship quality at follow-up.
Description
The goal of this randomized controlled trial is to evaluate the Living Memory Home for Dementia Care Pairs (LMH-4-DCP) web application, a dyadic online psychosocial reminiscence platform, to reduce feelings of pre-loss grief and improve relationship quality in individuals with dementia and their family caregivers ('Care Pairs').
The main aims of this study are:
- To evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the LMH-4-DCP platform.
- To explore the influence of the LMH-4-DCP intervention on reducing feelings of pre-loss grief and enhancing relationship quality in the care pair
Caregiver participants randomized to the intervention condition will be asked to log-in to LMH-4-DCP and complete reminiscence activities three times per week for two weeks. Researchers will compare the intervention group to an attention control condition, which includes LMH-4-DCP use without reminiscence-specific features, to see if LMH-4-DCP's use is associated with reduced feelings of caregiver pre-loss grief and improved care pair relationship quality at follow-up.
Eligibility
Inclusion Criteria:
Family Caregivers:
- be a primary source of care for a family member in the early to moderate stages of dementia
- 18 years of age or older
- English-speaking
- able to use the internet and has internet access
- residing in the United States
Exclusion Criteria:
Caregiver exclusion criteria:
- is not the primary family caregiver of the PwD
- under the age of 18-years-old
- exhibits cognitive impairment (by scoring 3 or more on the SPMSQ)
- does not speak English as a primary language.
PwD exclusion criteria:
- severe cognitive impairment detected by the clinical or study staff using validated, brief screening tools (e.g., a score of 8 errors or more on the SPMSQ)
- does not demonstrate capacity to consent (e.g., a score of 9 or fewer errors on the University of California-San Diego Brief Assessment of Capacity to consent
- PwD is living in a long-term care facility
- does not speak English as a primary language
- is under the age of 18 years old.