MindWalk Intervention for Older South Asian Caregivers of People With Cognitive Disabilities (CD)

Conditions

• Cognitive Decline
• Stress, Psychological

Eligibility Criteria

Sex

ALL

Age

45 Years - N/A

Healthy Volunteers

Not accepted

Interventions

• MindWalk Intervention — BEHAVIORAL
  The intervention will include: 1) a mindful walking training followed by 2) a prescribed mindful walking regimen, 3) self-reporting of adherence to regimen by the participants using activity logbooks and use of a user-friendly PA tracker (Fitbit) for daily step count, and 4) personalized text messages with reminders and motivational messages for participants to do the mindful walking as prescribed including a weekly check-in call or text message for accountability.

Study Details

Older South Asian family caregivers experience elevated psychological stress and limited physical activity (PA) due to caregiving responsibilities and additional factors such as lack of access to services, cultural/linguistic barriers, stigma and discrimination. South Asian family caregivers are especially underserved and are a growing ethnic group in the US. Both PA and cognitive training (CT) have shown to improve cognitive function in older adults who experience cognitive function decline because of psychological stress. However, there are no studies using this approach for this population. We propose a randomized control trial pilot study to address this gap. Driven by a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) we will develop this 12-week mindful walking intervention using a participatory methodology in partnership with UIC's Cognition Behavior and Mindfulness Clinic that combines the PA of walking and the CT through mindfulness. We will recruit fifty participants and will randomly and equally assign 25 people to the intervention and 25 people to the control group. The intervention will include: 1) a mindful walking training followed by 2) a prescribed mindful walking regimen, 3) self-reporting of adherence to regimen by the participants using activity logbooks and use of a user-friendly PA tracker (Fitbit) for daily step count, and 4) personalized text messages with reminders and motivational messages for participants to do the mindful walking as prescribed including a weekly check-in call or text message for accountability. The primary aim of the proposed pilot study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of the protocol and intervention implementation. A secondary aim will evaluate the intervention to examine preliminary efficacy in reduction of psychological stress, improvement in cognitive function, increase in physical activity, and increased self-efficacy (self-efficacy for coping with stress, self-efficacy for physical activity, and overall self-efficacy). The findings of this pilot project will provide evidence-based data to support a larger scale study proposal for future funding such as the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) field initiative award, or the National Institute of Health (NIH) Research Project Grant (R21 NIH Exploratory/Developmental Research Grant Award) award, especially National Institute on Aging (NIA) grants.

Key Dates

Start date

Oct 31, 2023

Status verified

Apr 2026

Primary completion

Dec 31, 2026

Completion

Dec 31, 2026

Study Design

Enrollment

50 participants (estimated)

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Intervention model

PARALLEL

Primary purpose

OTHER

Arms

• No Intervention: Control group
  The participants in the control group will be provided with psychoeducation materials on benefits of walking without any components of mindfulness. The control group will receive neutral text messages with identical frequency and amount of messages that do not include motivational content or reminders related to mindful walking. At the end of study, the control group will also be given access to the recorded virtual mindful walking training (this includes the 30 minutes introductory training and the weekly 10-minute mindfulness topics/modules).
• Active Comparator: MindWalk Intervention
  12 week intervention: 1) a mindful walking training followed by 2) a prescribed mindful walking regimen, 3) self-reporting of adherence to regimen by the participants using activity logbooks and use of a user-friendly PA tracker (Fitbit) for daily step count, and 4) personalized text messages with reminders and motivational messages for participants to do the mindful walking as prescribed including a weekly check-in call or text message for accountability.

Primary Outcome Measure

Perceived Stress using the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire-II (AAQ-II) [ Time Frame: Baseline, After 12 weeks and at follow up (20weeks) ]

Central Contacts

• Sumithra Murthy
  312-355-1396
  [email protected]

Locations (8)

Find similar trials in Bolingbrook, IL

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