Caring for a patient with dementia is associated with increased feelings of burden and depression. The proposed study will examine the efficacy of Family Intervention: Telephone Tracking - Dementia (FITT- Dementia), a multi-component, family-based, telephone intervention. Treatment strategies are based on assessment of key areas (e.g., mood, family functioning, social support, health) during each contact to ensure individualized application of interventions. This approach, initially designed for stroke caregivers, has been successfully modified for use with dementia caregivers by the PI and his research team as part of a development grant. The current project is designed to be an efficacy trial in which 274 dementia caregivers will be randomly assigned to receive either 6 months of FITT-Dementia or minimal telephone support. The intervention involves a fixed number of telephone contacts distributed over 6 months that focus on providing emotional support, directing caregivers to appropriate resources, encouraging caregivers to attend to their own physical, emotional, and social needs, and teaching caregivers strategies to cope with ongoing problems. Minimal telephone support will involve the same number of telephone contacts as the FITT-Dementia, although therapists will provide only reflective/empathic listening. Caregivers will undergo telephone assessments of their level of burden and depression conducted by an examiner blind to group membership. Assessments will be performed at baseline and at 2, 4, 6, and 9 months. The study will address the following aims: 1) To examine the efficacy of the FITT-Dementia for reducing burden and depression;2) To examine whether change in caregiver burden mediates the relationship between treatment and depression outcome;and 3) To identify caregiver and situational factors predicting the best response to FITT-Dementia treatment. A secondary aim of the proposed project is to determine preliminary cost effectiveness data for the FITT intervention compared to minimal telephone support. It is anticipated that results will support application of FITT-Dementia in the general community. There is continued need to identify interventions for dementia caregivers that can reduce burden and distress, yet still be accessible and easy to implement. The proposed study will test whether Family Intervention: Telephone Tracking-Dementia (FITT-D), a psychosocial intervention that is entirely delivered by telephone, can reduce distress in a large group of dementia caregivers. It is expected that study results will support application of FITT-D in the community.
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