Internet-Based Conversational Engagement Clinical Trial (I-CONECT)

What Is This Study About?

This study will test the effects of regular web-based video chat conversations on cognitive function in adults age 75 and older who are socially isolated. Participants will be assigned to a video chat or control group for one year. Participants in the video chat group will receive a computer to interact with study staff for 30 minutes per day, four times per week for six months and then two times per week for another six months. The control group will have 10-minute phone calls with study staff weekly to monitor their social activities and health conditions. Investigators will complete in-home testing to measure memory and executive function, and participants at Oregon Health & Science University will also have their medication compliance tracked using electronic pillbox devices.

Do I Qualify To Participate in This Study?

Must have:

• Socially isolated, defined by Lubben Social Network Scale score and conversation frequency
• Adequate hearing and vision to use study technology and complete neuropsychological tests
• Ability to understand English
• Normal cognition or mild cognitive impairment
• Consent for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), if safely and comfortably able to receive MRI

Must NOT have:

• Self-reported dementia or diagnosis of dementia by neuropsychologist
• Anticipating major change in living arrangement in next year
• Severely depressed
• Alcohol or substance abuse within past two years
• Unstable or significantly symptomatic psychiatric disorder or heart disease
• Type 1 diabetes, started taking insulin in past three months, or hospitalized for hypoglycemia in past year
• Active systemic cancer within past five years
• Surgery in past six months that required full sedation with intubation
• More than one overnight hospital stay within the past three months

If I Qualify, Who Do I Contact?

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

 

Who Is the General Study Contact?

For more information, visit the I-CONECT Study website.

Where Is This Study Located?

Who Sponsors This Study?

Lead: Oregon Health and Science University

Collaborator Sponsor

• University of Michigan
• National Institute on Aging (NIA)
• Wayne State University

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov ID: NCT02871921