A randomized trial using telehealth technology to link caregivers with dementia care experts for in-home caregiving support: FamTechCare protocol.

The number of persons with dementia (PWD) in the United States is expected to reach 16 million by 2050. Due to the behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, caregivers face challenging in-home care situations that lead to a range of negative health outcomes such as anxiety and depression for the caregivers and nursing home placement for PWD. Supporting Family Caregivers with Technology for Dementia Home Care (FamTechCare) is a multisite randomized controlled trial evaluating the effects of a telehealth intervention on caregiver well-being and PWD behavioral symptoms. The FamTechCare intervention provides individualized dementia-care strategies to in-home caregivers based on video recordings that the caregiver creates of challenging care situations. A team of dementia care experts review videos submitted by caregivers and provide interventions to improve care weekly for the experimental group. Caregivers in the control group receive feedback for improving care based on a weekly phone call with the interventionist and receive feedback on their videos at the end of the 3-month study. Using linear mixed modeling, we will compare experimental and control group outcomes (PWD behavioral symptoms and caregiver burden) after 1 and 3 months. An exploratory descriptive design will identify a typology of interventions for telehealth support for in-home dementia caregivers. Finally, the cost for FamTechCare will be determined and examined in relation to hypothesized effects on PWD behavioral symptoms, placement rates, and caregiver burden. This research will provide the foundation for future research for telehealth interventions with this population, especially for families in rural or remote locations.

Improving Academic Performance and Working Memory in Health Science Graduate Students Using Progressive Muscle Relaxation Training.

Research involving working memory has indicated that stress and anxiety compete for attentional resources when a person engages in attention-dependent cognitive processing. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of perceived stress and state anxiety on working memory and academic performance among health science students and to explore whether the reduction of stress and anxiety was achieved through progressive muscle relaxation (PMR) training. A convenience sample of 128 graduate students participated in this study. Using an experimental pretest-posttest design, we randomly assigned participants to a PMR group or a control group. Results indicated that PMR reduced state anxiety, F(1, 126) = 15.58, p < .001, thereby freeing up working memory and leading to improved academic performance in the treatment group. The results of this study contribute to the literature on Attentional Control Theory by clarifying the process through which working memory and anxiety affect cognitive performance.

Outcomes of an uncertainty management intervention in younger African American and Caucasian breast cancer survivors.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES: To determine whether breast cancer survivors (BCSs) who received an uncertainty management intervention, compared to an attention control condition, would have less uncertainty, better uncertainty management, fewer breast cancer-specific concerns, and more positive psychological outcomes. DESIGN: A 2 × 2 randomized block, repeated-measures design, with data collected at baseline and two other points postintervention, as well as a few days before or after either a mammogram or oncologist visit. SETTING: Rural and urban clinical and community settings. SAMPLE: 313 female BCSs aged 50 or younger; 117 African Americans and 196 Caucasians. METHODS: Participants were blocked on ethnicity and randomly assigned to intervention or control. The intervention, consisting of a scripted CD and a guide booklet, was supplemented by four scripted, 20-minute weekly training calls conducted by nurse interventionists. The control group received the four scripted, 20-minute weekly training calls. MAIN RESEARCH VARIABLES: Uncertainty in illness, uncertainty management, breast cancer-specific concerns, and positive psychological outcomes. FINDINGS: BCSs who received the intervention reported reductions in uncertainty and significant improvements in behavioral and cognitive coping strategies to manage uncertainty, self-efficacy, and sexual dysfunction. CONCLUSIONS: The intervention was effective as delivered in managing uncertainties related to being a younger BCS. IMPLICATIONS FOR NURSING: The intervention can realistically be applied in practice because of its efficient and cost-effective nature requiring minimal direct caregiver involvement. The intervention allows survivors who are having a particular survival issue at any given point in time to access information, resources, and management strategies. KNOWLEDGE TRANSLATION: Materials tested in CD and guide booklet format could be translated into online format for survivors to access as issues arise during increasingly lengthy survivorship periods. Materials could be downloaded to a variety of electronic devices, fitting with the information needs and management styles of younger BCSs.

Predictors and patterns of participant adherence to a cortisol collection protocol.

BACKGROUND: Cortisol, a stress-related hormone, has been measured in many psychoimmunological studies via collection of saliva; however, patterns of participant adherence to protocol procedures are rarely described in the literature. OBJECTIVES: In this paper we examine adherence to a cortisol morning rise collection protocol and explore its associations with demographic predictors and fatigue. METHOD: Participants included 262 breast cancer survivors enrolled in a National Institute of Nursing Research funded longitudinal intervention study (5R01NR010190, M. Mishel, P.I.). Self-reported times of salivary cortisol collection were recorded for each of 12 saliva samples. Adherence was assessed with respect to various demographic factors and fatigue. Participants were categorized as having high, moderate, or low adherence to the saliva collection protocol. RESULTS: Overall, 117 (45%) participants had high adherence to the protocol, 117 (45%) participants had moderate adherence, and 28 (∼11%) participants had low adherence. Tests for proportionality for the polytomous logistic regression indicated that demographic predictors in our model had a similar association with each level of participant adherence. Women who did not adhere to the saliva collection were more likely to be African American (OR .50, CI .29-.88) and to report a high impact of fatigue on their behaviors (OR .88, CI .79-.98). Though other predictors in the model were not statistically significant (working full-time and living with at least one child under 18 years of age), the overall model was significant (χ(2)(4)=17.35, p<.01). DISCUSSION: To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine profiles of participant adherence to a cortisol sampling protocol over multiple timepoints. By conceptualizing adherence as a polytomous outcome, future studies may give us insights into adherence trends in other populations with the aim of promoting adherence and designing more informed saliva collection protocols.

Engaging African American breast cancer survivors in an intervention trial: culture, responsiveness and community.

INTRODUCTION: Younger breast cancer survivors often lead extremely busy lives with multiple demands and responsibilities, making them difficult to recruit into clinical trials. African American women are even more difficult to recruit because of additional historical and cultural barriers. In a randomized clinical trial of an intervention, we successfully used culturally informed, population-specific recruitment and retention strategies to engage younger African-American breast cancer survivors. METHODS: Caucasian and African American breast cancer survivors were recruited from multiple communities and sites. A variety of planned recruitment and retention strategies addressed cultural and population-specific barriers and were guided by three key principals: increasing familiarity with the study in the communities of interest; increasing the availability and accessibility of study information and study participation; and using cultural brokers. RESULTS: Accrual of younger African-American breast cancer survivors increased by 373% in 11 months. The steepest rise in the numbers of African-American women recruited came when all strategies were in place and operating simultaneously. Retention rates were 87% for both Caucasian and African American women. DISCUSSSION/CONCLUSIONS: To successfully recruit busy, younger African American cancer survivors, it is important to use a multifaceted approach, addressing cultural and racial/ethnic barriers to research participation; bridging gaps across cultures and communities; including the role of faith and beliefs in considering research participation; recognizing the demands of different life stages and economic situations and the place of research in the larger picture of peoples' lives. Designs for recruitment and retention need to be broadly conceptualized and specifically applied. IMPLICATIONS FOR CANCER SURVIVORS: For busy cancer survivors, willingness to participate in and complete research participation is enhanced by strategies that address barriers but also acknowledge the many demands on their time by making research familiar, available, accessible and credible.

Managing uncertainty about treatment decision making in early stage prostate cancer: a randomized clinical trial.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of a theory-based decision-making uncertainty management intervention (DMUMI) providing newly diagnosed prostate cancer patients with information, communication skills and personally designed prompts. METHODS: A randomized clinical trial was conducted using a 3x2 design with intervention and control groups including both Caucasian and African-American men. General linear mixed models were used to compare intervention groups over time. RESULTS: Significant main effects for the treatment groups were found for uncertainty management (cancer knowledge, problem-solving, and patient-provider communication), medical communication competence, number and helpfulness of resources for information, and decisional regret. CONCLUSION: The intervention was effective in uncertainty management for Caucasian and African-American men, specifically in preparing competent patients with improved knowledge, problem-solving skills, information resources, and communication skills. Using the Uncertainty in Illness Theory, specific skills were selected with a focus on the antecedents of uncertainty. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: In the treatment decision-making context, patients and supportive others need information about disease, treatment options and side effects but they also need communication skills training prior to the treatment decision consultation.