Comparison of Two Psycho-educational Family Group Interventions for Persons With SCI and Their Caregivers
| Status: | Active, not recruiting |
|---|---|
| Conditions: | Hospital, Hospital, Orthopedic |
| Therapuetic Areas: | Orthopedics / Podiatry, Other |
| Healthy: | No |
| Age Range: | 18 - Any |
| Updated: | 8/4/2018 |
| Start Date: | September 2014 |
| End Date: | June 2019 |
Each year over 12,000 spinal cord injuries (SCI) occur in the United States. These injuries
result in incredibly difficult, long-term, life adjustments both for patients and their
caregivers. Many families continue to struggle with the physical, emotional and social
impacts of SCI for months and years after the injury. Family education and support improves
the outcomes of other challenging long-term conditions such as Traumatic Brain Injury, but
little effort has been made to provide such interventions for persons with SCI and their
caregivers. The proposed study will address this problem by refining and testing a group
treatment for SCI called Multi-family Group (MFG) intervention. The groups will include
people with SCI and their primary caregivers, and will be facilitated by an "educator" who is
a health care provider who works with people with SCI. By providing education about the
management of SCI and support in an MFG format, quality of life for persons with SCI is
predicted to be improved. In turn, it is expected that caregivers will also benefit from the
information, problem-solving activities, and social support that they receive from the
educators and other group members. The investigators will recruit 32 individuals with SCI who
have been discharged from inpatient rehabilitation within the previous three years and their
primary caregivers. Participants will be randomized to the MFG intervention or to an
education control condition and tested before and after treatment and 6 months following
treatment. It is hypothesized that participants receiving MFG-SCI will have better outcomes
than controls on measures of quality of life, health, and adjustment. The study will also
test whether participants who are more recently discharged from inpatient rehabilitation will
experience greater benefit from the MFG intervention or the education control intervention.
If the outcomes support the hypotheses, the MFG intervention should be made available to
those with SCI and their caregivers.
result in incredibly difficult, long-term, life adjustments both for patients and their
caregivers. Many families continue to struggle with the physical, emotional and social
impacts of SCI for months and years after the injury. Family education and support improves
the outcomes of other challenging long-term conditions such as Traumatic Brain Injury, but
little effort has been made to provide such interventions for persons with SCI and their
caregivers. The proposed study will address this problem by refining and testing a group
treatment for SCI called Multi-family Group (MFG) intervention. The groups will include
people with SCI and their primary caregivers, and will be facilitated by an "educator" who is
a health care provider who works with people with SCI. By providing education about the
management of SCI and support in an MFG format, quality of life for persons with SCI is
predicted to be improved. In turn, it is expected that caregivers will also benefit from the
information, problem-solving activities, and social support that they receive from the
educators and other group members. The investigators will recruit 32 individuals with SCI who
have been discharged from inpatient rehabilitation within the previous three years and their
primary caregivers. Participants will be randomized to the MFG intervention or to an
education control condition and tested before and after treatment and 6 months following
treatment. It is hypothesized that participants receiving MFG-SCI will have better outcomes
than controls on measures of quality of life, health, and adjustment. The study will also
test whether participants who are more recently discharged from inpatient rehabilitation will
experience greater benefit from the MFG intervention or the education control intervention.
If the outcomes support the hypotheses, the MFG intervention should be made available to
those with SCI and their caregivers.
Inclusion Criteria:
- For Person with SCI: quadriplegia or paraplegia due to an acquired injury with
complete or incomplete lesion as defined by ASIA
- For person with SCI: discharge from inpatient rehabilitation within the previous 3
years
- For Person with SCI: age 18 years or older
- For Person with SCI: mobility impairment as the result of the SCI
- For Person with SCI: living in the community in a non-group setting after injury
- For Person with SCI: planning to remain in the geographic area for at least 12 months
- For Person with SCI: competency in English
- For Caregiver of Person with SCI: provision of instrumental or emotional support for a
spouse, relative, partner, or friend with SCI for at least the past 6 months
- For Caregiver of Person with SCI: having regular contact with the individual with SCI
(at least a minimum of 2 hours face-to-face contact per week)
- For Caregiver of Person with SCI: living with or near the individual with SCI
- For Caregiver of Person with SCI: over the age of 18
- For Caregiver of Person with SCI: having a telephone
- For Caregiver of Person with SCI: planning to remain in the geographic area for at
least 12 months
- For Caregiver of Person with SCI: competency in English
Exclusion Criteria:
- For Person with SCI or Caregiver: terminal illness with life expectancy of less than
12 months
- For Person with SCI or Caregiver: in active treatment for cancer
- For Person with SCI or Caregiver: blind or deaf
- For Person with SCI or Caregiver: moderate to severe cognitive impairment (defined at
screening as a score on the Short Portable Mental Status Questionnaire > 4 errors)
- For Person with SCI or Caregiver: severely high level of depression symptoms (defined
at screening as a score on the CES-D >30)
We found this trial at
1
site
Spokane, Washington 99202
Principal Investigator: Dennis G. Dyck, PhD
Phone: 509-939-1316
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