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Supportive Care for Dementia

N/A

Waitlist Available

Led By VJ Periyakoil, MD

Research Sponsored by Stanford University

Eligibility Criteria Checklist

Specific guidelines that determine who can or cannot participate in a clinical trial

Must have

Be older than 65 years old

Must not have

Have severe dementia and are incapable of responding to the outcome measures at baseline

Timeline

Screening 3 weeks

Treatment Varies

Follow Up one year, two years

Awards & highlights

No Placebo-Only Group

Summary

This trial will study the benefits of a 12-month nurse-led early palliative intervention on symptoms, quality of life, and health care resource use for people with dementia living in the community.

Who is the study for?

This trial is for community-dwelling patients with dementia who are enrolled in the Stanford Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, along with their caregivers. It excludes those who are institutionalized, have severe dementia preventing them from responding to outcome measures, or lack a caregiver if unable to consent.

What is being tested?

The study tests a nurse-led supportive care assessment over 12 months aimed at improving symptoms and quality of life for people with dementia. The goal is also to reduce health care resource use by providing early palliative interventions.

What are the potential side effects?

Since this intervention involves supportive assessments rather than medications, traditional side effects like you'd see with drugs aren't expected. However, participants may experience emotional or psychological impacts from discussing sensitive topics.

Eligibility Criteria

Exclusion Criteria

You may be eligible for the trial if you check “No” for criteria below:

Select...

I have severe dementia and cannot respond to basic questions or instructions.

Timeline

Screening ~ 3 weeks3 visits

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~ one year, two years

Screening ~ 3 weeks

Treatment ~ Varies

Follow Up ~one year, two years

This trial's timeline: 3 weeks for screening, Varies for treatment, and one year, two years for reporting.

Treatment Details

Study Objectives

Study objectives can provide a clearer picture of what you can expect from a treatment.

Primary study objectives

Change in Zarit Caregiver Burden scores over time

Completion and documentation of advance directives (AD) and the Physicians Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST) in the electronic health records.

To identify the number of participants who express supportive care needs in both arms.

Secondary study objectives

Change in Patient Activation Measure over time

Differences in Edmonton Symptoms Assessment Scale (ESAS) scores