LTSS Center researchers designed an intervention to support long-distance caregivers. Now they’re seeking help to test its implementation.
A two-year study led by researchers at the LeadingAge LTSS Center @UMass Boston is developing and testing an intervention to support long-distance caregivers of older adults with dementia who receive home care.
The study, which is in its second phase, is funded by the National Institutes of Health. LTSS Center researchers Verena Cimarolli and Kathrin Boerner are leading the project in collaboration with the Gerontology Department at the University of Massachusetts Boston.
PHASE ONE: DEVELOPING THE INTERVENTION
During the project’s first phase, researchers worked with dementia care experts, including long-distance family caregivers and home care professionals, to develop a new intervention called “LDCare.” The intervention, which incorporates findings from previous research by Cimarolli and Boerner, is designed to address the specific needs of long-distance caregivers and reduce their caregiving-related burdens.
The seven-week, multi-component intervention consists of four one-on-one skill-building and educational sessions and three discussion and support sessions. All sessions are delivered by experienced licensed social workers who help long-distance caregivers:
- Understand dementia and how to best engage with an individual living with dementia.
- Recognize and learn how to address the personal challenges they may encounter as they provide care at a distance.
- Discover approaches they can use to improve their well-being, such as adopting stress management strategies, engaging in self-care, staying connected with others, and seeking support when needed.
- Learn best practices for interacting with clinicians.
- Obtain resources and tips for managing the safety of the home where their care recipient lives.
PHASE TWO: TESTING THE FEASIBILITY OF CONDUCTING THE INTERVENTION
During the LDCare study’s second phase, a sample group of 40 long-distance caregivers and their care recipients will help researchers examine the feasibility of conducting the LDCare intervention. To date, 17 long-distance caregivers have enrolled in this phase of the study and are now participating in the intervention’s educational and support sessions.
Dementia experts from the Family Caregiver Alliance (FCA) facilitate the one-hour LDCare sessions, which are conducted remotely. FCA is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving quality of the life for family caregivers and the people who receive their care.
Long-distance caregivers participating in LDCare receive a tablet they can use to attend education and support sessions and to connect with their care recipient and the care recipient’s home care aide. Once the intervention is completed, long-distance caregivers are encouraged to continue using the tablet and the resources developed by FCA.
Caregivers report informally that their participation in LDCare has been a positive experience. They feel supported, find their participation beneficial, and are receiving more help than expected, says Project Director Richard Chunga, an advanced doctoral student in Gerontology at UMass Boston.
“Caregivers thus far have loved the program,” says Chunga. “Our dementia experts report that caregivers are taking the lessons learned from the sessions and applying them with success in their lives. And caregivers tell us that they feel less alone. One caregiver told me, ‘I can sleep again; I finally feel like I have support.’”
ONGOING RECRUITMENT
Recruitment for the LDCare study is ongoing, and long-distance family caregivers are welcome to participate. If you are a family caregiver living two or more hours from your care recipient, please contact Evan Chunga (Richard.Chunga001@umb.edu) or Verena Cimarolli (vcimarolli@leadingage.org or 202-508-9411).
In addition, feel free to share the study’s recruitment flyer with caregivers in your personal and professional networks.