NCT03907748

Home-based Family Caregiver-delivered Music and Reading Interventions for People With Dementia

HOMESIDE: Home-based Family Caregiver-delivered Music and Reading Interventions for People Living With Dementia: A Randomised Controlled Trial

• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• Study type: Interventional
• Enrollment: 864 (actual)
• Sponsor: Anglia Ruskin University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Not accepted

Summary

This international study evaluates the impact of home-based caregiver-delivered music and reading interventions for people with dementia. The project aims to address the need for improved informal dementia care by training family caregivers to utilise a music or reading intervention with the person they are caring for. The interventions aim to decrease behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia as well as improve quality of life and well being of both people living with dementia and their caregivers. Participants will be allocated into a music intervention group, a reading intervention group or standard care group. In addition, the researchers will seek to determine the cost-effectiveness of using the music intervention.

Detailed description

This three-arm parallel-group randomised controlled trial will involve 495 couples (cohabiting caregivers and people with dementia) across 5 countries. Caregivers allocated to the music or reading intervention groups will be given three 2-hour training sessions in the allocated intervention. They will be asked to deliver the intervention to the person they are caring for 5x weekly for 3 months. Data will be collected prior to implementing the intervention, during the intervention (via diaries kept by the caregivers), after the last week of implementing the intervention and 3-months after implementing the intervention. The investigators will explore whether caregiver-delivered music or reading activities improve behavioural and psychological symptoms for people living with dementia. The researchers will also seek to find out the impact on other aspects of both the person with dementia and their caregiver's quality of life and well being. Additionally, costs associated with the care of the person with dementia will be evaluated to determine cost-effectiveness of delivering a music intervention.

Conditions

• Dementia
• Dementia, Vascular
• Dementia With Lewy Bodies
• Dementia, Mixed
• Dementia Alzheimers
• Behavioural and Psychiatric Symptoms of Dementia
• Depression
• Quality of Life

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
OTHER	Music Intervention	After training, caregivers will deliver the music intervention to the person with dementia whom they care for. The music intervention will include: a) singing familiar/preferred music followed by discussions facilitated by the caregiver about any associated meanings or memories; b) movement to music (e.g. upper body and arms imitating familiar dance movements to music); c) instrument playing; and d) listening to familiar/preferred relaxing or enlivening music (dependent upon symptoms present in the moment). These methods are known to assist in emotion regulation and increase cognitive reserve (e.g. attention and perceptual-motor function).
OTHER	Reading Intervention	After training, caregivers will deliver the reading intervention to the person with dementia whom they care for. The reading intervention will include: a) the caregiver reading aloud to the person they are caring for; b) the person with dementia reading aloud to their caregiver; and c) discussion of the text and personal responses. Strategies to engage the person with dementia and to create opportunities for meaningful dialogue will be provided, as well as guidance on selecting reading material that is accessible to the person's level of cognitive impairment.

Timeline

• Start date: 2019-11-20
• Primary completion: 2022-12-23
• Completion: 2022-12-23
• First posted: 2019-04-09
• Last updated: 2023-02-09

Locations

5 sites across 5 countries: Australia, Germany, Norway, Poland, United Kingdom