Caregiver Stress: Interventions to Promote Health and Well-being
Caregiver Stress: Interventions to Promote Health and Well-being
Overall Status:
Recruiting
Brief Description:
Investigators will test psycho-education and physical exercise, individually and in combination, as ways to promote physical health (especially reduction in cardiovascular risk) and emotional well-being in family caregivers of people with chronic illness. Two groups of family caregivers will participate, those who care for African American dementia patients and those who care for heart failure patients. Researchers hypothesize that caregivers who receive the combined psycho-education and physical exercise intervention will have better psychological functioning, behavioral outcomes, cardiovascular risk measures, neuroendocrine function, and overall health outcomes compared to caregivers who receive only one intervention.
Patient Qualifications:
| Min Age | Gender | Healthy Volunteers |
|---|---|---|
21 Years | Both | Accepts Healthy Volunteers |
Inclusion Criteria:
- Family caregiver, defined as a spouse, partner, or other adult family member living in the same house or in contact with patient in a caregiver relationship at least 4 times per week for at least 1 hour or more
- English fluency
- Ambulatory and physically able to engage in a structured low-impact walking and upper-body strength training program
- Self-identify as African American for the Alzheimer's disease study
Exclusion Criteria:
- Nonsedentary, defined as engaging in more than 30 minutes of moderately strenuous exercise three times or more per week
- Medical or physical condition that precludes participation in the exercise component of the study (e.g., severe arthritis or mobility problems, uncontrolled hypertension or diabetes, renal insufficiency, or history of angina with activity)
- Current psychiatric comorbidity (alcohol or drug abuse/dependence, bipolar or psychotic disorder, suicidal ideation)
- Current smoker
- Cognitive problems
- Ischemic changes or inappropriate blood pressure changes on treadmill test
- Acute inflammation at start of study or follow-up testing
- Prohibited medications: corticosteroids
Detailed Description:
Chronic caregiving can take a toll on a caregiver's mental and physical health, including an increased risk for or worsening of heart disease. This study will test psycho-education and physical exercise, individually and in combination, as ways to promote physical health (especially reduction in cardiovascular risk) and emotional well-being in family caregivers of people with chronic illness. Two groups of family caregivers will participate, those who care for African American dementia patients and those who care for heart failure patients.
Investigators seek to elucidate the biological mechanisms of stress-induced cardiovascular risk and generate other important data in order to enhance the lives of family caregivers and minimize their risk of cardiovascular disease, the number one cause of disability and death in the United States.
Researchers hypothesize that caregivers who receive the combined psycho-education and physical exercise intervention will have better outcomes than those who receive just one intervention. Outcomes to be measured include psychological functioning (lower levels of depressive symptoms, anxiety, and caregiver burden and higher levels of flourishing), behavioral outcomes (improved sleep quality and greater physical function), cardiovascular risk measures (improved resting heart rate, blood pressure, heart rate recovery, oxygen consumption, lipids, glucose, and inflammatory markers), neuroendocrine function (salivary cortisol), and overall health outcomes (improved function, muscle strength, and endurance).
Locations:
| Map Marker | City | State | Zip Code | Status | Primary Contact | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Geolocation is 33.7980995, -84.3259367 | Emory Universtiy | Atlanta | Georgia | 30322 | Recruiting |
Lead Sponsor:
| Agency |
|---|
Emory University |
Collaborator Sponsor:
| Agency |
|---|
National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR) |
Facility Investigators:
| Name | Role | Affiliation |
|---|---|---|
Susan Bauer-Wu, PhD | Principal Investigator | Emory University |
Andrew Miller, MD | Principal Investigator | Emory University |
Kenneth Hepburn, PhD | Study Chair | Emory University |
Sandra Dunbar, DSN | Study Chair | Emory University |
Monica Parker, MD | Study Chair | Emory University |
Study Contact:
| Name | Phone | |
|---|---|---|
Mary Laszlo | 404-712-8478 |
Locations
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01188070 (follow link to view full record on ct.gov in new window)
Official Title:
Caregiver Stress: Interventions to Promote Health and Well-being
Study Start Date:
January 2010
Study End Date:
June 2014
Enrollment:
384
