Trial results for the "Rural Dementia Caregiver Project" were posted on ClinicalTrials.gov on 2025-07-17, involving 418 participants. The study measured outcomes including depression and stress among rural dementia caregivers.
Background
Rural caregivers face challenges of geographic isolation and lower health care access and quality. Many rural dementia caregivers experience serious health consequences due to caregiving responsibilities that can limit their ability to maintain their caregiving role. Thus, there is a pressing need for effective, scalable, and accessible programs to support rural dementia caregivers. Online programs offer a convenient and readily translatable option for program delivery because they can be accessed by caregivers in the home and at the convenience of the user.
Trial design
This completed study, designated as Phase NA, enrolled 418 participants to investigate conditions including Depression, Stress, Psychological, Self Efficacy, Loneliness, and Social Isolation. The trial compared a "Building Better Caregivers Workshop Group" to an "Attention Control Group" to evaluate an online program for rural dementia caregivers.
Key results
The trial reported several key measurements related to caregiver well-being:
- Personal Health Questionnaire Depression (PHQ-8) Scale Score (units on a scale):
- Building Better Caregivers Workshop Group: mean 5.6 (Standard Deviation 4.1)
- Attention Control Group: mean 5.8 (Standard Deviation 4.4)
- Visual Numeric Stress Scale (score on a scale):
- Building Better Caregivers Workshop Group: mean 5.9 (Standard Deviation 2.2)
- Attention Control Group: mean 6.0 (Standard Deviation 2.1)
- Personal Health Questionnaire Depression (PHQ-8) Scale Score (units on a scale):
- Building Better Caregivers Workshop Group: mean 5.7 (Standard Deviation 4.6)
- Attention Control Group: mean 7.1 (Standard Deviation 5.4)
- Visual Numeric Stress Scale Score (units on a scale):
- Building Better Caregivers Workshop Group: mean 6.0 (Standard Deviation 2.2)
- Attention Control Group: mean 5.9 (Standard Deviation 2.2)
- Short Caregiver Self-Efficacy Scale Score (units on a scale):
- Building Better Caregivers Workshop Group: mean 5.4 (Standard Deviation 2.0)
- Attention Control Group: mean 5.1 (Standard Deviation 1.6)
- Zarit Burden Interview-12 (ZBI-12) Scale Score (units on a scale):
- Building Better Caregivers Workshop Group: mean 21.9 (Standard Deviation 9.0)
- Attention Control Group: mean 23.4 (Standard Deviation 7.3)
What this means
The posted results provide data on the impact of an online caregiver support program on depression, stress, self-efficacy, and caregiver burden among rural dementia caregivers. For one measurement of the Personal Health Questionnaire Depression (PHQ-8) Scale Score, the Building Better Caregivers Workshop Group showed a mean score of 5.7 compared to 7.1 in the Attention Control Group. Other measures for depression and stress were similar between the groups. The intervention group also reported a slightly higher mean Short Caregiver Self-Efficacy Scale Score (5.4 vs. 5.1) and a lower mean Zarit Burden Interview-12 (ZBI-12) Scale Score (21.9 vs. 23.4), suggesting potential benefits in these areas. These findings contribute to understanding the utility of online interventions for supporting rural dementia caregivers.
Source
The information regarding these trial results was obtained from ClinicalTrials.gov, a public database of clinical studies. The results for the study NCT04428112, titled "Rural Dementia Caregiver Project", were posted on 2025-07-17 on clinicaltrials.gov.