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DementiaPhase 3PAVeDNCT01325714

Preventing Aggression in Veterans With Dementia

A Phase 3 study testing PAVeD Intervention in people with Dementia and Aggression, run by VA Office of Research and Development at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
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Trial summary

This study tests whether education about memory and pain might help to prevent aggression in persons with dementia who have pain. The overall goal of this intervention is to reduce the risk of aggressive behavior by improving several areas of patient life that are known causes of aggression: pain, depression, lack of… Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 60 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
Conditions the study is for
Dementia, Aggression, Pain
What is being tested?
PAVeD Intervention
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
203 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
May 2011to Sep 2015
Phase
Phase 3
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 60 years and older
  • All sexes
  • Healthy volunteers accepted
  • Adult, Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Patients will be eligible to participate in the study if they meet the following criteria:
  • have a documented diagnosis of dementia
  • receive primary care from the VA
  • reside outside a long-term care facility
  • live within 45 minutes of the MEDVAMC
  • have mild-to-moderate dementia
Show all 13Show fewer
  • have no history of aggression in the past year
  • have no evidence of aggression on the CMAI at baseline (i.e., do not score 2 or higher on both frequency and disruptiveness for any of 13 behaviors listed).
  • have a caregiver who is directly involved with the patient:
  • at least 8 hours per week
  • sees the patient at least twice a week
  • and speaks English
  • report clinically significant pain (either directly or through the caregiver as a proxy)

Who cannot join

  • Patients will be excluded if they have had history of aggression in the past year
  • The investigators will administer the aggression subscale of the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI)
  • Aggression will be considered present if any of the following items are endorsed as having occurred over the prior year:
  • spitting
  • cursing/verbal aggression
  • hitting
Show all 17Show fewer
  • kicking
  • grabbing
  • pushing
  • throwing
  • biting
  • scratching
  • hurting self/others
  • tearing things/destroying property
  • making inappropriate verbal sexual advances
  • or making inappropriate physical sexual advances
  • Participants that scored 2 or higher for both frequency and disruptiveness on any of the 13 behaviors listed on the CMAI at baseline were considered aggressive and were excluded from the study.

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center, Houston, TX

    Houston, Texas, 77030

Other trials in United States

About this study

This study tests whether education about memory and pain might help to prevent aggression in persons with dementia who have pain. The overall goal of this intervention is to reduce the risk of aggressive behavior by improving several areas of patient life that are known causes of aggression: pain, depression, lack of pleasurable activities, caregiver stress and difficulty in caregiver-patient communication.

Read the detailed description

Dementia is known primarily for its effects on memory, however, eighty percent of persons with dementia also have behavioral disturbances. This is often not addressed, leading to increased use of nursing homes, higher incidence of injury (both patient and caregiver) and the use of tranquilizing medications. Pain is one of the strongest predictors of aggression. The prevalence of pain in persons with dementia is known to be about 50%. Untreated pain is associated with significant negative outcomes, including increased health care use, inactivity and isolation. The investigators aim to determine whether outcome differences exist between active intervention and control conditions in relation to the occurrence of aggressive behavior, pain and depression, and its impact on pleasant activities, caregiver burden, quality of caregiver-patient relationship, antipsychotic use, health-service use, injuries to patient and caregiver, and nursing home placement. The active intervention, Preventing Aggression in Veterans with Dementia (PAVeD), is a family caregiver-focused, home-based intervention that uses psychoeducational and behavioral approaches to help reduce the risk of aggressive behavior in persons with dementia. The objective of PAVeD is to improve several areas of patient life that are known causes of aggression: pain and distress (including mood problems), lack of pleasurable activities, and difficulty in patient-caregiver communication that may negatively affect relationship quality and caregivers' recognition of pain.

Being tested
PAVeD Intervention, Enhanced Usual Care
Medical subject headings
Dementia, Aggression, Pain

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • PAVeD InterventionBehavioural

    In the PAVeD Intervention, the caregiver will receive six to eight 45-minute visits to teach caregiver about pain and memory problems. The person with dementia will also be able to learn from these visits. These visits will take place over three months.

  • Enhanced Usual CareBehavioural

    In Enhanced Usual Care, the caregiver will receive information in the mail about memory problems and pain; and the caregiver will receive eight short telephone calls to check on how the person with dementia is doing.

    Primary Care providers will be notified through electronic medical records about any significant behavioral problems or pain.

Study groups in NCT01325714
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Arm 1: PAVeD InterventionExperimentalIn the experimental arm, the caregiver will receive six to eight 45-minute visits to teach caregiver about pain and memory problems. The person with dementia will also be able to learn from these visits. These visits will take place over three months.
Receives: Behavioral: PAVeD Intervention
Arm 2: Enhanced Usual CareActive comparatorIn the comparison arm, the caregiver will receive information in the mail about memory problems and pain; and the caregiver will receive eight short telephone calls to check on how the person with dementia is doing.
Receives: Behavioral: Enhanced Usual Care

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Number of Participants With Aggression as Determined by the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (Aggression Subscale)

    The CMAI lists 13 behaviors (2 verbal and 11 nonverbal) and for each behavior the participant indicates how frequently the behavior occurs (1-5, higher values = greater frequency) and how disruptive the behavior is (1-5, higher values = greater disruptiveness). For any given behavior, if a participant scored a 2 or higher on BOTH frequency (i.e., it occurred "less than once a week" or more often) and disruptiveness (i.e., it was "a little" disruptive or more), he/she was considered aggressive.

    Overall aggression takes into account all 13 behaviors, whereas verbal aggression only pertains to two behaviors and non-verbal aggression pertains to 11 behaviors.

    One is considered verbally aggressive if he/she responds with a 2 or higher on both frequency and disruptiveness for either of the two verbal behaviors.

    One is considered non-verbally aggressive if he/she responds with a 2 or higher on both frequency and disruptiveness for any of the 11 non-verbal behaviors.

    Measured: Three Months, Six Months, Twelve Months Post Intervention

Secondary outcomes (8)
  1. Caregiver-Reported Worst Pain

    This is one item on the Philadelphia Pain Intensity Scale. One item with scores from 0 to 5, where 0 = no pain, 1 = little pain, 2 = moderate pain, 3 = quite bad pain, 4 = very bad pain, 5 = the pain is almost unbearable.

    Higher scores = greater pain severity

    Measured: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months, and 12 months

  2. Patient-reported Worst Pain.

    This is one item on the Philadelphia Pain Intensity Scale. One item on a 0-5 scale, where 0 = no pain, 1 = little pain, 2= moderate pain, 3 = quite bad pain, 4 = very bad pain, 5 = the pain is almost unbearable.

    Higher scores = greater pain severity.

    Measured: Baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months

  3. Caregiver Reported Overall Pain Over the Last Several Weeks

    This is one item on the Philadelphia Pain Intensity Scale. One item on a 0-5 scale, where 0 = no pain, 1 = little pain, 2= moderate pain, 3 = quite bad pain, 4 = very bad pain, 5 = the pain is almost unbearable.

    Higher scores = greater pain severity.

    Measured: Baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months.

  4. Patient-reported Overall Pain Over the Last Several Weeks

    This is one item on the Philadelphia Pain Intensity Scale. One item on a 0-5 scale, where 0 = no pain, 1 = little pain, 2= moderate pain, 3 = quite bad pain, 4 = very bad pain, 5 = the pain is almost unbearable.

    Higher scores = greater pain severity.

    Measured: Baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months

  5. Depression

    Geriatric Depression Scale. 30 item scale with response options of yes = 1 and no = 0 to each item.

    Total GDS scores range from 0 to 30, with greater scores indicating greater depression.

    Measured: Baseline, 3, 6, and 12 months

  6. Pleasant Events - Short Form - Alzheimer's Disease

    The frequency of engagement in pleasant events, according to the Pleasant Events Schedule - Alzheimer's Disease.

    For each of 20 events, participants answered the frequency (0 = not at all, 1 = 1-6 times, 2 = 7+ times) they engaged in the event and whether they enjoyed the event (1 = yes, 0 = no).

    For each item, frequency x enjoyment were multiplied. Then scores for each of the 20 items were added together.

    The possible range of scores on the PES frequency of engagement in pleasant events is from 0 - 40, with higher scores indicating more frequent engagement in pleasant events.

    Measured: Baseline, 0, 3, 6, 12 months

  7. Caregiver Burden

    Caregiver-reported burden, according to the Burden Inventory. 22 items are responded to on a 0-4 scale where 0 = never, 1 = rarely, 2 = sometimes, 3 = quite frequently, and 4 = nearly always.

    Scores are then summed so that the total range is from 0 to 88. Higher scores indicate greater caregiver burden.

    Measured: Baseline, 3, 6, 12 months

  8. Caregiver-perceived Mutuality

    Caregiver-Perceived Total Mutuality (with patient), based on the Mutuality Scale.

    Fifteen items about the caregivers' relationship with the patient with dementia were responded to on a 0-4 scale, where 0 = not at all, 1 = a little, 2 = some, 3 = quite a bit, and 4 = a great deal.

    responses to all 15 items were averaged, so total scores range from 0-4, with higher values indicating greater mutuality.

    Measured: Baseline, 3, 6, 12 months

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted30 Mar 2011 (estimated)
  2. Study startMay 2011
  3. Primary completionFeb 2015
  4. Study completionSep 2015

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase 3
Primary purpose
Health services research
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Parallel groups
Masking
Single blind
Who is masked
Outcomes assessor
Enrolment
203 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT01325714
Sponsor's protocol ID
IIR 09-351
Acronym
PAVeD
Status last verified
May 2016
First submitted
28 Mar 2011
Last updated
24 Jun 2016
Data monitoring committee
No
Individual data sharing
No

Publications

  • Fowler JH, Dannecker K, Stanley M, Wilson N, Snow AL, Kunik ME. Preventing aggression and other secondary features of dementia in elderly persons: Three case studies. Bull Menninger Clin. 2015 Spring;79(2):95-115. doi: 10.1521/bumc.2015.79.2.95.

    PubMed 26035086
  • Bradford A, Shrestha S, Snow AL, Stanley MA, Wilson N, Hersch G, Kunik ME. Managing pain to prevent aggression in people with dementia: a nonpharmacologic intervention. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2012 Feb;27(1):41-7. doi: 10.1177/1533317512439795.

    PubMed 22467413
  • Breland JY, Barrera TL, Snow AL, Sansgiry S, Stanley MA, Wilson N, Amspoker AB, Kunik ME. Correlates of pain intensity in community-dwelling individuals with mild to moderate dementia. Am J Alzheimers Dis Other Demen. 2015 May;30(3):320-5. doi: 10.1177/1533317514545827. Epub 2014 Aug 7.

    PubMed 25107934
  • Li J, Snow AL, Wilson N, Stanley MA, Morgan RO, Sansgiry S, Kunik ME. The Quality of Pain Treatment in Community-Dwelling Persons with Dementia. Dement Geriatr Cogn Dis Extra. 2015 Dec 5;5(3):459-70. doi: 10.1159/000441717. eCollection 2015 Sep-Dec.

    PubMed 26955380
  • Amspoker AB, Snow AL, Renn BN, Block P, Pickens S, Morgan RO, Kunik ME. Patient Versus Informal Caregiver Proxy Reports of Pain Interference in Persons With Dementia. J Appl Gerontol. 2021 Apr;40(4):414-422. doi: 10.1177/0733464820902632. Epub 2020 Feb 6.

    PubMed 32026743

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A Phase 3 study testing PAVeD Intervention in people with Dementia and Aggression, run by VA Office of Research and Development at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 13 inclusion and 17 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 24 Jun 2016. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

What does this phase mean?

Phase 3 studies compare the treatment with the current standard treatment or a placebo in a large group, to confirm how well it works and watch for side effects.

Not every study follows the same path, and some studies (observational studies, device studies) have no phase.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 19 May 2016). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Number of Participants With Aggression as Determined by the Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (Aggression Subscale) (time frame: Three Months, Six Months, Twelve Months Post Intervention). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT01325714, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 24 Jun 2016.

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