Pilot Study of the Residential Care Transition Module to Support Australian Spouses of People with Dementia

Deborah Brooks; Elizabeth Beattie; Helen Edwards; Elaine Fielding; Joseph E. Gaugler

doi:10.1080/07317115.2021.1988023

Pilot Study of the Residential Care Transition Module to Support Australian Spouses of People with Dementia

Deborah Brooks, Elizabeth Beattie, Helen Edwards, Elaine Fielding, Joseph E. Gaugler

Health Policy and Management

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

3 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objectives: Spouses are at risk of poor psychosocial outcomes following placement of their partner with dementia into long-term care. The Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) is a psychosocial intervention developed in the United States to support carers post-placement. This study aimed to test the RCTM delivered by telephone to Australian spousal carers. Methods: A small-scale RCT [N = 21] was conducted to test feasibility of recruitment, retention, acceptability, and preliminary effects on measures of stress, grief, depression, guilt, quality-of-life, and satisfaction with care, compared to a group receiving printed information. Results: The Transition Counselor and study participants considered the intervention delivery, dose, and content as acceptable. Retention was high (91%). At follow-up, significant time effects were found for stress, depression and “nursing home hassles.” A significant interaction effect was found for quality-of-life in favor of the comparison group. No effects were found for guilt or overall grief, however a promising result regarding the sub-scale of “acceptance of loss” was found in favor of the RCTM. Conclusions: The delivery of the RCTM to Australian spousal carers was feasible and acceptable. Clinical implications: The RCTM shows potential for improving support to spouses of people with dementia following long-term care placement.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1130-1143
Number of pages	14
Journal	Clinical Gerontologist
Volume	45
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1080/07317115.2021.1988023
State	Published - 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
Dr. Gaugler was supported by grant R01 AG048931 from the National Institute on Aging.

Funding Information:
This work was supported by a Dementia Australia Research Foundation–Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration Consumer Priority PhD Scholarship awarded to Deborah Brooks. We acknowledge the spousal carers that took part in this study and Wendy Holdaway, who delivered the RCTM intervention. The authors would also like to thank Tamara Statz and Dr. Robyn Birkeland for their clinical expertise and guidance. Dr. Gaugler was supported by grant R01 AG048931 from the National Institute on Aging.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.

Keywords

Dementia
long-term care
psychosocial intervention
spousal carers
transition

PubMed: MeSH publication types

Journal Article
Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

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10.1080/07317115.2021.1988023

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title = "Pilot Study of the Residential Care Transition Module to Support Australian Spouses of People with Dementia",

abstract = "Objectives: Spouses are at risk of poor psychosocial outcomes following placement of their partner with dementia into long-term care. The Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) is a psychosocial intervention developed in the United States to support carers post-placement. This study aimed to test the RCTM delivered by telephone to Australian spousal carers. Methods: A small-scale RCT [N = 21] was conducted to test feasibility of recruitment, retention, acceptability, and preliminary effects on measures of stress, grief, depression, guilt, quality-of-life, and satisfaction with care, compared to a group receiving printed information. Results: The Transition Counselor and study participants considered the intervention delivery, dose, and content as acceptable. Retention was high (91%). At follow-up, significant time effects were found for stress, depression and “nursing home hassles.” A significant interaction effect was found for quality-of-life in favor of the comparison group. No effects were found for guilt or overall grief, however a promising result regarding the sub-scale of “acceptance of loss” was found in favor of the RCTM. Conclusions: The delivery of the RCTM to Australian spousal carers was feasible and acceptable. Clinical implications: The RCTM shows potential for improving support to spouses of people with dementia following long-term care placement.",

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author = "Deborah Brooks and Elizabeth Beattie and Helen Edwards and Elaine Fielding and Gaugler, {Joseph E.}",

note = "Funding Information: Dr. Gaugler was supported by grant R01 AG048931 from the National Institute on Aging. Funding Information: This work was supported by a Dementia Australia Research Foundation–Dementia Centre for Research Collaboration Consumer Priority PhD Scholarship awarded to Deborah Brooks. We acknowledge the spousal carers that took part in this study and Wendy Holdaway, who delivered the RCTM intervention. The authors would also like to thank Tamara Statz and Dr. Robyn Birkeland for their clinical expertise and guidance. Dr. Gaugler was supported by grant R01 AG048931 from the National Institute on Aging. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.",

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Pilot Study of the Residential Care Transition Module to Support Australian Spouses of People with Dementia

Abstract

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Keywords

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