Effects of Peer Mentoring on Caregivers of Patients With Acquired Brain Injury

Recruiting in Palo Alto (17 mi)

Age: 18+

Sex: Any

Travel: May Be Covered

Time Reimbursement: Varies

Trial Phase: Phase 2

Waitlist Available

Sponsor: Shepherd Center, Atlanta GA

No Placebo Group

Prior Safety Data

Trial Summary

What is the purpose of this trial?

Family caregivers often take on the demands of long-term caregiving after ABI. Early efforts to prepare family caregivers for the caregiving role after discharge from acute ABI inpatient rehabilitation may be beneficial in many ways. This study will look at the impact of participation in a one-to-one peer mentor program on the use of family support services and caregivers' emotional health and well-being (depression symptoms, stress). Participants in this study will include caregivers of patient admitted to the Shepherd Center ABI inpatient rehabilitation unit. Caregivers will be randomly selected to participate in the one-to-one mentor program. The program will include visits with a peer mentor who is the caregiver of an individual with an acquired brain injury. Participants will be able to choose a peer mentor that matches their personal situation and preferences. They will meet with the peer mentor about once a week during the patient's stay at Shepherd Center and may continue with phone calls up to 30 days post-discharge. Participants will be asked to complete a brief evaluation after each peer mentor interaction to determine the value of the interactions and their interest in continuing visits. Participants will be asked to take part in three interviews that will last 10-15 minutes. The first will be within the first two weeks at Shepherd Center and the second will be a few days after discharge. A third interview will be conducted by phone about 30 days post discharge.

Research Team

Eligibility Criteria

Inclusion Criteria

Patient admitted for rehabilitation off acquired brain injury Planned discharge to home Family caregiver aged 18 years or older English-speaking

Treatment Details

Interventions

• one-to-one peer mentoring (Behavioral Intervention)

Participant Groups

Group I: One-to-One Peer Mentoring Experimental Treatment 1 Intervention

Caregiver will be matched based on characteristics such as age, date of patient injury, level of patient injury, cause of patient injury, marital status, work status before and after patient injury, interests, and leisure activities. After participant is matched with a peer mentor, they will be required to have at least one weekly one-to-one interaction from time of match until 30 days post- discharge.

Group II: Usual Care Active Control 1 Intervention

Participants received the usual discharge planning and family support services offered by the ABI program. These services include nurse instruction in care routines, case management support for discharge, peer support services, referral to family counseling and community services as indicated, and general information resources about brain injury. Participants in both the intervention and usual care groups also had access to the online peer support community created for ABI caregivers (facebook.com/shepherdbi.peers). In addition, usual care participants could request one-to-one visits with peer mentors and, indeed, most usual care participants received at least one peer mentoring visit.

Who Is Running the Clinical Trial?

Shepherd Center, Atlanta GA

Lead Sponsor

Trials

30

Recruited

4,000+