Evaluating the Effectiveness and Implementation of Caregiver Support Initiatives for Caregivers of Older Patients in Singapore
For patients and families
In plain language
An automatic summary of structured registry data. It is an orientation aid, not a substitute for the official protocol or a physician assessment.
- What is being studied
- The protocol lists: Caregiver Support Model, Standard caregiver support.
- Who it may be relevant to
- Registry conditions: Caregiver, Caregiver Stress, Caregiver Resilience and Stress. Basic parameters: No limits · All.
- What needs checking
- Age, condition and sex are only basic indicators. Prior treatment, laboratory values and other mandatory requirements appear in the eligibility criteria below.
- Where it takes place
- Singapore
- Next step
- Save the trial, show it to the treating physician, and confirm current recruitment with the study center. Costs, documents and travel →
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Official title
Project Carer Matters 2: Evaluating the Effectiveness and Implementation of Caregiver Support Initiatives for Caregivers of Older Patients in Singapore
Overview
We are evaluating the caregiver support initiatives at a tertiary hospital in Singapore (Tan Tock Seng Hospital - TTSH) provided to caregivers caring for older patients. The evaluation will focus on 1) evaluating the process / delivery / implementation of these initiatives to caregivers and 2) the outcomes of caregivers and their care recipients after receiving these caregiver support services at TTSH. Research questions are as follows: Process evaluation: 1. How are the bundle(s) of caregiver support initiatives at TTSH delivered to caregivers? 2. What and how was impact achieved for these initiatives? Outcome evaluation: 3. Did caregivers (and patients) benefit from these support initiatives and how? 4. Which aspects of the caregiver support initiatives are most beneficial to caregivers (and patients)? Eligible caregivers will be invited to take part in the study and to complete 3 surveys and an optional interview over the period of their care recipients' hospital stay at TTSH, and 2 months after discharge. During their care recipients' stay, they may be introduced to any of the caregiver support initiatives, based on their needs. Caregivers enrolled in this study will take part in 3 surveys - 1 conducted at the beginning of care recipients' hospital stay, 1 conducted around the discharge period and 1 conducted one month after discharge. The aim of the surveys is to find out if caregivers have attended or used any of these services and whether they benefited from them.
Detailed description
This is a mixed method study that seeks to evaluate the bundle of caregiver support initiatives being provided to caregivers at TTSH, based on their needs. The evaluation will focus on 1) evaluating the process / delivery / implementation of these initiatives to caregivers and 2) the outcomes of caregivers and their care recipients after receiving these caregiver support services at TTSH. Research questions are as follows:
Process evaluation:
1. How are the bundle(s) of caregiver support initiatives at TTSH delivered to caregivers? 2. What and how was impact achieved for these initiatives?
Outcome evaluation: 3. Did caregivers (and patients) benefit from these support initiatives and how? 4. Which aspects of the caregiver support initiatives are most beneficial to caregivers (and patients)?
Quantitative methods:
Eligible caregivers will be invited to take part in the study and to complete 3 surveys and an optional interview over the period of their care recipients' hospital stay at TTSH, and 2 months after discharge. During their care recipients' stay, they may be introduced to any of the caregiver support initiatives, based on their needs. Caregivers enrolled in this study will take part in 3 surveys - 1 conducted at the beginning of care recipients' hospital stay, 1 conducted around the discharge period and 1 conducted one month after discharge. The aim of the surveys is to find out if caregivers have attended or used any of these services and whether they benefited from them.
We hypothesise that caregivers outcomes, for e.g. caregivers' knowledge, preparedness to provide care and well-being will be increased for those who have used or attended the initiatives recommended for them by the hospital and caregivers' stress, anxiety, depression, will decrease after receiving these caregiver support initiatives. We also hypothesise that the time spent on caregiving will decrease for those who have used or attended the hospital's caregiver support services and initiatives.
As some of the caregiver initiatives may be progressively implemented at TTSH over the study period, the study will capture data from caregivers who did not receive these initiatives with those who have received them when these initiatives were made available at the hospital.
We will also seek patients' consent to use their data in EPIC for research purposes. We hypothesise that patients' re-admission and visits to the ED post-discharge will be reduced.
Qualitative Methods:
Through the optional interviews with caregivers, either before or after discharge of the care recipients, we aim to ask the following research questions:
1. How were the caregiver support initiatives introduced and carried out at TTSH? 2. How did caregivers respond to these initiatives and what were their perceptions towards these interventions? Which aspects of these initiatives benefit them the most and why? 3. What are the barriers and facilitators faced by the healthcare professionals who implemented these initiatives to caregivers?
Interventions
- Other Caregiver Support Model
1. CarePal: A one-stop resource library for caregivers of older adults 2. Nasogastric tube (NGT) webapp: An electronic training platform to learn NGT feeding and management 3. Carer OnBoard programme 4. Caregiver resources in NHG Health App (NHA): Relevant healthcare professionals or TTSH staff will introduce caregivers to the resources they may need in the NHA app. 5. Carer guide, a resource booklet providing information and community resources for caregivers. 6. Group Caregiver Training, for c - Other Standard caregiver support
Participants are provided standard bedside caregiver education as appropriate and information reinforcement through leaflets and booklets
Primary outcome measures
- Preparedness for Caregiving Scale [Time frame: 1 month]
- Caregiver Resourcefulness Scale [Time frame: 1 month]
- Zarit Burden Scale - 12 Item [Time frame: 1 month]
Secondary outcome measures (2)
- Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale [Time frame: 1 month]
- EQ5D-5L [Time frame: 1 month]
Eligibility criteria
Inclusion criteria
- 21 years of age and above
- Main or secondary caregiver of an older person receiving home-based care
- Able to read and converse in English
- Has a mobile smartphone and is able to navigate basic functionalities on mobile apps
Exclusion criteria
- Participants who are cognitively impaired
- Unwilling to download and utilise app
- Unable to read or converse in English comfortably
Criteria are shown verbatim from the registry (in English). Final eligibility is always assessed by the study center.
Healthy volunteers: Yes
Study design
- Allocation
- Non-randomized
- Model
- Sequential
- Masking
- Open label
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
Study locations
Singapore · 1 center
- Tan Tock Seng Hospital — Singapore
Publications
- Chan EY, Phang KN, Glass GF Jr, Lim WS. Crossing, Trudging and Settling: A phenomenological inquiry into lived experience of Asian family caregivers of older persons with dementia. Geriatr Nurs. 2019 Sep-Oct;40(5):502-509. doi: 10.1016/j.gerinurse.2019.03.015. Epub 2019 Apr 9. PMID 30979516
- Chan EY, Glass GF Jr. Delivering a holistic hospital-to-home framework to support family caregivers of persons with dementia: Protocol for a feasibility study. J Adv Nurs. 2022 May;78(5):1513-1523. doi: 10.1111/jan.15210. Epub 2022 Mar 14. PMID 35285537
- Chan EY, Wu LT, Ng EJY, Glass GF Jr, Tan RHT. Applying the RE-AIM framework to evaluate a holistic caregiver-centric hospital-to-home programme: a feasibility study on Carer Matters. BMC Health Serv Res. 2022 Jul 19;22(1):933. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08317-3. PMID 35854296
- Loke SXY, Chew EYH, Siew AL, Glass GF Jr, Chan EY. Transiting Back Home: Caregivers' Lived Experiences in Caring for Loved Ones on the Nasogastric Tube in the Home-Setting in Singapore. J Transcult Nurs. 2023 Sep;34(5):343-355. doi: 10.1177/10436596231175163. Epub 2023 May 24. PMID 37226459
- Kwok MWS, Glass GF Jr, Loke S, Loi JN, Chan EY. I see, I learn, I do: Development and evaluation of a video-enhanced nasogastric tube feeding training programme for caregivers. Nurs Open. 2023 Apr;10(4):2357-2365. doi: 10.1002/nop2.1491. Epub 2022 Nov 23. PMID 36419224
- Wu LT, Glass GF Jr, Chew EYH, Ng EJY, Chan EY. Developing a theory of change to guide the design and implementation of a caregiver-centric support service. BMC Health Serv Res. 2024 Dec 18;24(1):1620. doi: 10.1186/s12913-024-11931-y. PMID 39695613
- Chew EYH, Ong ZL, Glass GF Jr, Chan EY. '24/7' Caregiving: A Qualitative Analysis of an Emerging Phenomenon of Interest in Caregiving. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022 Dec 19;19(24):17046. doi: 10.3390/ijerph192417046. PMID 36554924
- Chan EY, Glass G, Chua KC, Ali N, Lim WS. Relationship between Mastery and Caregiving Competence in Protecting against Burden, Anxiety and Depression among Caregivers of Frail Older Adults. J Nutr Health Aging. 2018;22(10):1238-1245. doi: 10.1007/s12603-018-1098-1. PMID 30498832
Identifiers
NCT: NCT07090837 · ECOS2024/00077