Dyadic, App-supported Collaborative Care Intervention Trial for Family Caregivers of People Living With Dementia

Description

In Germany, approximately 1.8 million individuals are living with dementia, representing a considerable share of those requiring long-term care. Many people with dementia (PlwD) express the desire to remain in their home environment for as long as possible. However, the progressive cognitive and physical decline associated with the disease renders caregiving increasingly time-intensive and places a substantial burden on family members. In the absence of sufficient support structures, maintaining home-based care becomes difficult, creating additional strain on the health care system. The study aims to address these challenges through an innovative intervention. Its primary objectives are: (1) to evaluate whether a dyadic care management model, delivered by specialized nurses with expertise in dementia care and supported by a mobile health application that provides direct access to caregiving experts and memory clinics, can help stabilize the home care situation; (2) to determine whether this approach reduces caregiver burden; and (3) to assess its effectiveness in alleviating neuropsychiatric symptoms in PlwD, compared to usual care.

Interventions

• Experimental arm (Other)
  Dyads in the intervention group will receive individualized dementia care management over a twelve-month period, with the objective of identifying and effectively addressing the unmet needs of people living with dementia (PlwD) and their caregivers. The intervention is complemented by a mobile health application used by both caregivers and Care Specialists, providing caregivers with continuous access to care managers and memory clinics whenever challenges or burdens arise. The app facilitates ongoing monitoring of caregivers' health status and burden through regular real-time data collection, aggregation, and transmission to the care manager, thereby enabling timely and needs-based interventions or re-interventions. Consequently, the frequency and intensity of the intervention are tailored to the dyads' individual circumstances and reported levels of burden.

Eligibility criteria

Conditions

Locations

• Institut für Technik der Informationsverarbeitung — Karlsruhe, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
• Universität Konstanz — Konstanz, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
• Gemeinnützige Gesellschaft für Psychiatrie Reutlingen mbh — Reutlingen, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany
• AGAPLESION Elisabethenstift — Darmstadt, Hesse, Germany
• AOK Niedersachsen — Hanover, Lower Sachsony, Germany
• Universitätsmedizin Göttingen — Göttingen, Lower Saxony, Germany
• Universitätsmedizin Greifswald — Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
• DZNE — Greifswald, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
• Universitätsmedizin Rostock — Rostock, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany
• Universität zu Köln — Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany
• Otto-von-Guericke-Universität Magdeburg — Magdeburg, Saxony, Germany
• IKK gesund plus — Magdeburg, Saxony, Germany