The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether use of an online platform, the WeCareAdvisor, reduces caregiver stress and enhances their confidence in managing dementia-related behavioral and psychological symptoms.
All participants in this study will have an opportunity to use the WeCareAdvisor. Caregivers are initially interviewed by a trained member of the research team to learn about their own health and the wellbeing and that of the person for whom they care. Then caregivers are assigned by chance (randomly, like a flip of a coin) to either a group that receives access to use the WeCareAdvisor immediately or to a group that waits three months prior to starting its use. All caregivers are then interviewed by telephone again at one (1), three (3) and six (6) months after starting the study. Each interview will last up to 1 1/2 hours.
Upon completion of each interview, caregivers will receive an Amazon gift card for $15 (up to $60 total for study) in appreciation of their time.
Within a few days of completing the sixth month follow-up interview, a member of the research team will call to conduct a brief telephone interview (15 minutes) to ask about satisfaction with participating in the study. At the conclusion of study participation, caregivers will not have access to the tool. A book of helpful strategies, many of which are found on the WeCareAdvisor will be provided.
For more information about what you can expect as a study participant, click here.
No. Participation in this study is not associated with any costs and is completely voluntary.
All caregivers who are enrolled in this study will be able to use the WeCareAdvisor to learn about dementia and ways to address dementia-related behavioral and psychological symptoms that are challenging to manage.
Caregivers will also have access to educational materials through the tool that may be helpful in a section referred to as the “Caregiver Survival Guide.”
Caregivers may benefit from learning new ways of managing challenging behavioral symptoms and from the tips offered on managing symptoms.
WeCare in the News & Publications
Clinicaltrials.gov, WeCareAdvisor Study for Caregivers of People Living With Dementia
Penn, Drexel get $22 million to study Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, other dementias
Gitlin, L.N., Bouranis, N., Kern, V. Koeuth, S., Marx. K.A., McClure, L.A., Lyketsos, C.G., & Kales, H.C. (2021). WeCareAdvisor, an online platform to help family caregivers manage dementia-related behavioral symptoms: An efficacy trial in the time of COVID-19. Journal of Technology in Behavioral Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41347-021-00204-8
Scerpella, D.L., Bouranis, N., Webster, M.J., Dellapina, M., Koeuth, S., Parker, L.J., Kales, H.C., & Gitlin, L.N. (2021). Using geographic information systems (GIS) for targeted national recruitment of community-dwelling caregivers managing dementia-related behavioral and psychological symptoms: A recruitment approach for a randomized clinical trial. Journal of Geographic Information System, 13, 302-317. https://doi.org/10.4236/jgis.2021.133017