Technology and Family Thriving Study

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 18 years and older
• All sexes
• No healthy volunteers
• Adult, Older adult

Trial locations and contacts

27 sites in 1 country.

About this study

Official title: Using Rendever to Improve the Quality of Life of Older Adults With Cognitive Impairments in Senior Living Communities and Their Family Members Who Live at a Distance

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease, Dementia, Caregiver Burnout, Quality of Life, Mental Health Wellness 1, Loneliness

Being tested

Virtual Reality, Video Chat

Keywords

Virtual reality, Video chat (Zoom), Technology, Senior living community, Seniors, Older adults, Cognitive impairment, Dementia, Thriving, Quality of Life, Loneliness, Mental health, Caregiver guilt, Caregiver burden, Family relationships, Adult children, Assisted living, Social connection

Medical subject headings

Alzheimer Disease, Dementia, Caregiver Burden, Cognitive Dysfunction, Psychological Well-Being

What participants receive

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

• Virtual RealityBehavioural

  Older adults (residents of senior living communities) engage in four 20-minute virtual reality activities (via the Rendever platform) with their adult child each week for 4 consecutive weeks. The 4 sessions include immersive virtual adventures (e.g., bucket list travel) and reminiscence activities (e.g., virtual life story). Adult children participate remotely from their own homes.

• Video ChatBehavioural

  Older adults (residents of senior living communities) engage in four 20-minute video chat sessions (via the Zoom platform) with their adult child each week for 4 consecutive weeks. Adult children participate remotely from their own homes.

What is being measured

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

1. Quality of Life in Alzheimer's Disease (QOL-AD) - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   QOL-AD (R.G. Logsdon, 1996) is a 13-item self-report measure of quality of life (completed by older adult participants). (As a secondary outcome, adult children also reported on their parents' quality of life). Items are rated on a 4-point scale: 1 = Poor, 2 = Fair, 3 = Good, 4 = Excellent. The total score is the mean of all items (range: 1 to 4). Higher scores indicate greater quality of life.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

2. Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT) - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   An 11-item measure of thriving adapted from the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT) and the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT; Su, R., Tay, L., \& Diener, E., 2014). This measure provides a holistic view of positive functioning (completed by older adults and adult children). Items are rated on a 5-point scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neither Agree nor Disagree, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree. The total score is the average of the 11 items (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of thriving.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

3. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   This scale includes 12 items from the longer PANAS (Watson, Clark, \& Tellegen, 1988), which measures two primary dimensions of mood. (Completed by older adults and adult children.) Participants rate the extent to which they experienced positive and negative emotions over the past week. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale: 1 = Not at all, 2 = A little, 3 = Moderately, 4 = Quite a lot, 5 = Extremely. Separate subscale scores are calculated for positive emotion (6 items) and negative emotion (6 items) by averaging responses within each set (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores on the positive emotion subscale reflect greater positive mood during the past week, indicating better well-being. Higher scores on the negative emotion subscale reflect greater negative mood, indicating poorer well-being.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

4. Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   GDS (Sheikh, J.I., \& Yesavage, J.A., 1986) is a 15-item self-report measure of depression (completed by older adult participants). Items are rated "Yes" or "No" and are scored "1" if the response reflects depressive symptoms. Total score is the sum of all items (range: 0 to 15). Higher scores indicate greater depression.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

5. Mental Health Inventory (MHI) - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   The MHI includes 5 items from the longer MHI (McHorney, Ware, \& Raczek, 1993) to assess depression, anxiety, and vitality during the past week (completed by older adults and adult children). Items are rated on a 6-point scale: 1= None of the time, 2= A little of the time, 3 = Some of the time, 4 = A good bit of the time, 5 = Most of the time, 6 = All of the time. The total score is the average of all 8 items, some reverse-scored (range: 1 to 6). Higher scores indicate better mental health.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

6. Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Short Form) - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   The short form of the Revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Hughes, Waite, Hawkley, \& Cacioppo, 2008) is a 4-item scale widely used in field research with older adults, and adapted from the original scale (Russell D, Peplau LA, Cutrona CE, 1980). Items are rated on a 4-point scale: 1 = Never, 2 = Rarely, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Often. The total score is the mean of the 4 items (range: 1 to 4). Higher scores indicate greater loneliness.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

7. Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   Relationship closeness is assessed with 4 items from the Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale (Dibble, Levine, \& Park, 2011). (Completed by older adults and adult children). Items are rated on a 7-point scale: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Somewhat disagree, 4 = Neutral, 5 = Somewhat agree, 6 = Agree, 7 = Strong Agree. The total score is the average of the 4 items (range: 1 to 7). Higher scores indicate greater relationship closeness.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

8. Relationship Satisfaction - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   Global relationship satisfaction is assessed with 3 items adapted from Huston et al.'s (1986) relationship satisfaction scale (completed by older adults and adult children). Items are rated on a 6-point scale: 1 = Not at all, 2 = A little, 3 = Somewhat, 4 = Very, 5 = Almost completely, 6 = Completely. Total scores are the average of the 3 items (range: 1 to 6). Higher scores indicate greater relationship satisfaction.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

9. Communal Coping - Changes From Baseline (Older Adult)

   Communal coping is assessed with 3 items reflecting feelings of unity when combatting stress (Afifi et al., 2019). (Completed by older adults and adult children.) Items are rated on a 5-point scale: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly agree. The total score is the average of the 3 items (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of communal coping.

   Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

10. Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT) - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    An 11-item measure of thriving adapted from the Brief Inventory of Thriving (BIT) and the Comprehensive Inventory of Thriving (CIT; Su, R., Tay, L., \& Diener, E., 2014). This measure provides a holistic view of positive functioning (completed by older adults and adult children). Items are rated on a 5-point scale: 1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neither Agree nor Disagree, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly Agree. The total score is the average of the 11 items (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of thriving.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

11. Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale Revised Short Form (CESD-R-10) - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    The CESD-R-10 (Björgvinsson, Kertz, Bigda-Peyton, McCoy, Aderka,2013) is a 10-item measure of depressive symptoms adapted from the longer CESD (completed by adult children). Participants are asked to report how they felt during the past week. Items are rated on a 4-point scale: 0 = Rarely or none of the time, 1 = Some or a little of the time, 2 = Occasionally or a moderate amount of the time, 3 = Most or all of the time. The total score is the mean of the 10 items, some reverse-scored (range: 0 to 3). Higher scores reflect more depressive symptoms, worse mental health.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

12. Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    This scale includes 12 items from the longer PANAS (Watson, Clark, \& Tellegen, 1988), which measures two primary dimensions of mood. (Completed by older adults and adult children.) Participants rate the extent to which they experienced positive and negative emotions over the past week. Each item is rated on a 5-point scale: 1 = Not at all, 2 = A little, 3 = Moderately, 4 = Quite a lot, 5 = Extremely. Separate subscale scores are calculated for positive emotion (6 items) and negative emotion (6 items) by averaging responses within each set (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores on the positive emotion subscale reflect greater positive mood during the past week, indicating better well-being. Higher scores on the negative emotion subscale reflect greater negative mood, indicating poorer well-being.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

13. Mental Health Inventory (MHI) - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    The MHI includes 5 items from the longer MHI (McHorney, Ware, \& Raczek, 1993) to assess depression, anxiety, and vitality during the past week (completed by older adults and adult children). Items are rated on a 6-point scale: 1 = None of the time, 2 = A little of the time, 3 = Some of the time, 4 = A good bit of the time, 5 = Most of the time, 6 = All of the time. The total score is the average of all 8 items, some reverse-scored (range: 1 to 6). Higher scores indicate better mental health.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

14. Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    The PSS short form (completed by adult children) is a 4-item scale adapted from the longer PSS (Cohen, Kamarck, \& Mermelstein, 1983). Items are rated on a 5-point scale: 1 = Never, 2 = Almost never, 3 = Sometimes, 4 = Fairly often, 5 = Very often. The total score is the average of the 4 items, some reverse-scored (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores indicate greater perceived stress.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

15. Caregiver Guilt/Grief Scale - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    This scale (completed by adult children) includes 13 items adapted from the caregiver guilt and grief scales (Wells, Jorm, Jordan, \& Lefroy, 1990). Items are rated on a 5-point scale: 1= Not at all, 2 = A little, 3 = A moderate amount, 4 = A lot, 5 = Almost unbearably. The total score is the average of the 13 items (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores indicate greater caregiver guilt/grief.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

16. Relational Burnout/Load Scale - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    Relational burnout/load is assessed with 6 items from the Relational Load Scale (Afifi et al., 2019). (Completed by adult children.) Items are rated on a 5-point scale: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly agree. The total score is the average of the 6 items, some reverse-scored (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of relational load/burnout.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

17. Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    Relationship closeness is assessed with 4 items from the Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale (Dibble, Levine, \& Park, 2011). (Completed by older adults and adult children.) Items are rated on a 7-point scale: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Somewhat disagree, 4 = Neutral, 5 = Somewhat agree, 6 = Agree, 7 = Strong Agree. The total score is the average of the 4 items (range: 1 to 7). Higher scores indicate greater relationship closeness.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

18. Relationship Satisfaction - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    Global relationship satisfaction is assessed with 3 items adapted from Huston et al.'s (1986) relationship satisfaction scale (completed by older adults and adult children). Items are rated on a 6-point scale: 1 = Not at all, 2 = A little, 3 = Somewhat, 4 = Very, 5 = Almost completely, 6 = Completely. The total score is the average of the 3 items (range: 1 to 6). Higher scores indicate greater relationship satisfaction.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

19. Communal Coping - Changes From Baseline (Adult Child)

    Communal coping is assessed with 3 items reflecting feelings of unity when combatting stress (Afifi et al., 2019). (Completed by older adults and adult children.) Items are rated on a 5-point scale: 1 = Strongly disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Neutral, 4 = Agree, 5 = Strongly agree. The total score is the average of the 3 items (range: 1 to 5). Higher scores indicate a greater sense of communal coping.

    Measured: T1 (baseline, 1-week pre-intervention), T2 (1-week post-intervention), T3 (1-month post-intervention), T4 (3-months post-intervention)

Timeline

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

1. First posted9 Dec 2021
2. Study start2 Oct 2021
3. Primary completion16 Mar 2024
4. Study completion16 Mar 2024

Resources

• Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
• Posted resultsParticipant flow, outcome measures and adverse events reported by the sponsor.
• Other trials for Alzheimer DiseaseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
• What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.

More details

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