About this trial
This study will evaluate the feasibility and preliminary efficacy of the novel Resilient Together for Dementia (RT-D) intervention for couples following dementia diagnoses. The primary target is emotional distress, and the program aims to prevent chronic distress in at-risk couples.
Eligibility criteria
This trial does not accept healthy volunteersQualifiers
Recent (~3 month) chart documented ADRD diagnosis,
ADRD symptom onset after age 65
Cognitive assessment scores and symptoms consistent with early stage dementia, as determined by the Clinical Dementia Rating Scale scores of .5 or 1.0
Cognitive awareness of their problems (as determined by the treating neurologist), and ability to understand study and research protocol, as determined by a standardized teach-back method assessment
Disqualifiers
Patient is deemed inappropriate by the neurology team
Either partner has a co-occurring terminal illness
Patient was diagnosed with forms of dementia with clinical profiles that would preclude participation (e.g., Frontotemporal Dementia- behavioral variant), as determined by treatment team.
Trial design
Single group
Treatments tested in this trial
Resilient Together for Dementia
BehavioralRT-D has been developed based on feedback from couples and dementia clinicians as well as prior successful dyadic interventions. RT-D was developed based on the Recovering Together (RT) dyadic intervention for acute neurological illnesses and is being adapted to address the needs of couples navigating new dementia diagnoses.
MEUC
BehavioralThe MEUC condition was also developed based on the comparison trial in the Recovering Together dyadic intervention, and was adapted based on feedback from prior studies. The program is self-guided and provides educational information similar to the RT-D condition, but with no skills practice or weekly sessions with a therapist.
Treatment groups
Trial outcomes
Primary outcomes
Proportion of participants screened
Feasibility of recruitment - recruitment will be monitored by screening clinic visits for potentially eligible individuals and review recruitment progress in weekly meetings to promote completion within the study time frame. The research team will measure with the proportion of participants screened.
Proportion of participants who consent or not consent to participate
Feasibility of consent - by keeping a record of all individuals who complete screening that consent, refuse to consent, and the reasons for refusal will be monitored and will review progress in weekly team meetings. The research team will measure with the proportion of participants who consent or not consent to participate
Proportion of sessions participants attend
The number of sessions that enrolled dyads attend as well as missed sessions, treatment dropouts, and reasons for nonattendance will be monitored and will review progress in weekly meetings. The research team will measure with the proportion of sessions participants attend.
Credibility and Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ)
A scale measuring treatment expectancy and rationale credibility for use in clinical outcome studies. Full scale from 0-10, with higher score indicating higher treatment expectancy
Secondary outcomes
Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
A 14-items scale with responses scored from 0-3, scores for each subscale from 0 (normal) to 21 (severe symptoms). Full scale score is 0 to 42, with higher score indicating more emotional distress.
Geriatric Depression Scale
A 15-item scale with yes/no responses, total scores range from 0 to 15. Scores of 0-4 are considered normal, 5-8 indicate mild depression, 9-11 suggest moderate depression, and 12-15 indicate severe depression. Higher scores indicate more severe depressive symptoms.
Perceived Stress Scale
A 10-item questionnaire, each item scored 0 (never) to 4 (very often), full scale from 0-40, with higher score indicating higher perceived stress.
Sponsors and contacts
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Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Lead sponsor
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Collaborator