D-CARE: The Dementia Care Study

What Is This Study About?

This study will compare the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of health systems-based dementia care versus community-based dementia care. People with dementia and their caregivers will be randomly assigned to receive health system-based dementia care, community-based dementia care, or enhanced usual care for 18 months. Health systems-based dementia care will be provided by a dementia care specialist (nurse or physician assistant), who will tailor dementia care in collaboration with primary care doctors. Community-based dementia care will be provided by a care consultant (social worker or nurse with a community organization), who will tailor care according to patient and caregiver preferences. Participants receiving enhanced usual care will be provided with educational materials and referral to the Alzheimer's Association national hotline to speak to a consultant for decision-making support, crisis assistance, caregiver education, and referral to local programs and services. Researchers will evaluate the outcomes of the different types of care including changes in quality of life, dementia behavioral symptoms, hospitalization, and caregiver distress levels, and compare the cost-effectiveness of the different care approaches.

Do I Qualify To Participate in This Study?

Must have:

• Diagnosis of dementia established by a physician or other primary care provider
• Primary care provider who is willing to partner with the study
• Caregiver who speaks English or Spanish, and has a phone
• Persons living with dementia in assisted living facilities will be eligible if they do not meet any exclusion criteria (however, no more than 25% of participants can be living in assisted living facilities at the time of enrollment. This will be monitored when the first 25% of the sample has been enrolled.)

Must NOT have:

• Resides in a nursing home at the time of recruitment
• Enrolled in hospice
• Plans to move out of the area within the coming year
• Caregiver is unwilling or anticipates being incapable of providing self-reported outcome measures for 18 months
• Caregiver is paid and is not a relative or close friend of the person with dementia
• Caregiver has cognitive impairment
• Participation in another dementia intervention study
• Patients and caregivers who are members of a sites' Local Patient & Stakeholder Committee
• There is already a member of the same household participating in the study.

If I Qualify, Who Do I Contact?

Contact study personnel listed either under the general study contact or the location nearest you.

 

Where Is This Study Located?

Who Sponsors This Study?

Lead: University of California, Los Angeles

Collaborator Sponsor

• Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute
• National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Yale University
• Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging
• Baylor Scott and White Health
• Wake Forest University Health Sciences
• University of Texas
• Geisinger Clinic
• University of Oklahoma
• RAND

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT03786471