College of Nursing and Health Sciences, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, 5042, Australia.
Bolton Clarke Research Institute, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Jun 10;22(1):762. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08148-2.
The majority of people with dementia are cared for by their family members. However, family carers are often unprepared for their caring roles, receiving less education and support compared with professional carers. The consequences are their reduced mental and physical health and wellbeing, and that of care recipients. This study protocol introduces the 'Partnership in iSupport program' that includes five interventional components: managing transitions, managing dementia progression, psychoeducation, carer support group and feedback on services. This health services research is built on family carer and dementia care service provider partnerships. The aims of the study are to evaluate the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and family carers' experiences in the program.
A multicentre randomised controlled trial will be conducted with family carers of people living with dementia from two tertiary hospitals and two community aged care providers across three Australian states. The estimated sample size is 185 family carers. They will be randomly assigned to either the intervention group or the usual care group. Outcomes are measurable improvements in quality of life for carers and people with dementia, caregiving self-efficacy, social support, dementia related symptoms, and health service use for carers and their care recipients. Data will be collected at three time points: baseline, 6 months and 12 months post-initiation of the intervention.
This is the first large randomised controlled trial of a complex intervention on health and social care services with carers of people living with dementia in real-world practice across hospital and community aged care settings in three Australian states to ascertain the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness and carers' experiences of the innovative program. We expect that this study will address gaps in supporting dementia carers in health and social care systems while generating new knowledge of the mechanisms of change in the systems. Findings will strengthen proactive health management for both people living with dementia and their carers by embedding, scaling up and sustaining the 'Partnership in iSupport program' in the health and social care systems.
The Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (ANZCTR). ACTRN12622000199718 . Registered February 4, 2022.
大多数痴呆症患者都由其家庭成员照顾。然而，与专业护理人员相比，家庭护理人员通常对其护理角色没有准备，接受的教育和支持较少。其后果是他们的身心健康和护理接受者的身心健康都受到了影响。本研究方案介绍了“伙伴关系 iSupport 计划”，该计划包括五个干预组成部分：管理过渡、管理痴呆症进展、心理教育、护理人员支持小组和服务反馈。这项卫生服务研究是基于家庭护理人员和痴呆症护理服务提供者的伙伴关系。该研究的目的是评估该计划的有效性、成本效益以及家庭护理人员的体验。
将在澳大利亚三个州的两家三级医院和两家社区老年护理机构中，对患有痴呆症的人的家庭护理人员进行一项多中心随机对照试验。预计样本量为 185 名家庭护理人员。他们将被随机分配到干预组或常规护理组。结果是护理人员和痴呆症患者的生活质量、护理自我效能、社会支持、痴呆症相关症状以及护理人员及其护理接受者的卫生服务使用方面可衡量的改善。数据将在三个时间点收集：基线、干预开始后 6 个月和 12 个月。
这是在澳大利亚三个州的医院和社区老年护理环境中，针对现实世界中患有痴呆症的人的护理人员的健康和社会护理服务的一项复杂干预措施的首次大型随机对照试验，旨在确定该创新计划的有效性、成本效益和护理人员的体验。我们预计，这项研究将解决在卫生和社会保健系统中支持痴呆症护理人员方面的差距，同时为系统中变化的机制生成新的知识。研究结果将通过在卫生和社会保健系统中嵌入、扩大和维持“伙伴关系 iSupport 计划”，加强痴呆症患者及其护理人员的积极健康管理。
澳大利亚新西兰临床试验注册中心（ANZCTR）。ACTRN12622000199718。于 2022 年 2 月 4 日注册。
