JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Family caregiving for individuals with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) is characterized by increasing complexity, intensity, and demand across the disease trajectory. Formal home- and community-based services can provide knowledge, skills, and resources to enhance preparedness and self-efficacy, which may protect against adverse caregiving outcomes; yet awareness and uptake of these services remain low. As caregivers increasingly turn to the internet for information and support in their role, technology offers an opportunity to create a more seamless pipeline between assessment and service referral to match family caregivers with targeted services that meet their specific needs.

Objective:

The primary objective of this study protocol is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of CarePair—a mobile self-assessment and service referral platform—among ADRD family caregivers. Secondary objectives are to assess the preliminary efficacy of CarePair in reducing stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and enhancing self-efficacy among caregivers randomized to the intervention versus attention control condition. This study also aims to generate preliminary effect size estimates to inform sample size calculations for a future fully powered randomized controlled trial (RCT).

Methods:

This pilot RCT will evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy of CarePair. Eighty ADRD family caregivers will be enrolled and randomized in a 1:1 ratio to the intervention (n=40) or attention control (n=40) condition. Recruitment will be facilitated by the project study site located in an urban metropolitan area of the United States, targeting participants residing in and/or in close proximity to any of the following locations: New York City, Long Island, and Westchester County, New York; Seattle, Washington, and Los Angeles, California. Primary feasibility outcomes include recruitment, retention, and completion rates, website usability, and intervention satisfaction. Exploratory analyses will assess preliminary efficacy on stress, depressive and anxiety symptoms, and self-efficacy.

Results:

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Conclusions:

This pilot trial will offer foundational evidence regarding the feasibility and acceptability of the CarePair intervention. Study findings will guide intervention refinements and inform the design of a larger-scale, fully powered RCT to rigorously evaluate its efficacy in addressing unmet needs and enhancing well-being among ADRD family caregivers.