Dementia Care Partner Hospital Assessment Tool

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to see whether an adapted questionnaire called the Care Partner Hospital Assessment Tool (CHAT) for care partners of hospitalized patients living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) (CHAT-AD) can help people with dementia receive better care after they go home from the hospital. Participants will be a care partner ('family member or friend') who provides unpaid care to a hospitalized adult relative or partner to help them take care of themselves because of dementia. Participants can expect to be in this study for 14 days.

Conditions

  • Alzheimer Disease
  • Dementia

Eligibility

Eligible Ages
Over 18 Years
Eligible Sex
All
Accepts Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Inclusion Criteria

  • Provide unpaid care to a hospitalized adult relative or partner to help them take care of themselves because of ADRD - 18 years or older

Exclusion Criteria

  • Non-English speaking

Study Design

Phase
N/A
Study Type
Interventional
Allocation
Randomized
Intervention Model
Parallel Assignment
Primary Purpose
Supportive Care
Masking
Single (Outcomes Assessor)

Arm Groups

ArmDescriptionAssigned Intervention
No Intervention
Standard of Care
Participants in this arm will only receive standard of care.
Experimental
Adjusted CHAT-AD
Using CHAT, participants will be asked questions about their needs to fully support and care for their loved one after the loved one is released from the hospital.
  • Behavioral: Care Partner Hospital Assessment Tool
    Complete the adjusted CHAT as well as demographic and caregiving questionnaires during and after loved one's hospitalization.

Recruiting Locations

University of Wisconsin
Madison, Wisconsin 53705
Contact:
Anne Mortensen
608-262-2712
amortensen3@wisc.edu

More Details

Status
Recruiting
Sponsor
University of Wisconsin, Madison

Study Contact

Anne Mortensen
608-262-2712
amortensen3@wisc.edu

Detailed Description

The purpose of this study is to adapt CHAT for care partners of hospitalized patients living with ADRD (CHAT-AD) and evaluate its feasibility and potential efficacy in a pilot randomized clinical trial. Findings from this study will enable the lead researcher to launch an independent program of research that aims to (1) improve hospital-based care processes and outcomes for patients living with ADRD and their care partners, and (2) make clear the essential caregiving role that so many care partners of patients living with ADRD assume. In order to adapt CHAT, there will be two design teams with key stakeholders from local aging networks and a large academic medical system: one team comprised of previously hospitalized patients living with ADRD and their care partners (N=7 dyads) and the second comprised of healthcare system administrators and clinicians (N=7). The team will use a validated participatory human-centered design process in which each team completes 5 co-design videoconference sessions that occur in parallel across 4 months, with 2-3 weeks between each session. Upon adaptation of the CHAT-AD, the study team will partner with a medical and surgical units that are part of a large academic medical system to recruit 128 eligible care partners of hospitalized patients living with ADRD, randomized into either the CHAT-AD plus usual care or usual care-only groups. The team will assess feasibility by examining overall recruitment, attrition, safety, adherence, and implementation satisfaction. To examine efficacy, a validated measure of caregiving preparedness will be obtained pre- and post-intervention.