Palliative Care Education in Assisted Living for Dementia Care Providers (PCEAL-DCP)

NCT06722352 | Recruiting DMC

• 2 other identifiers: 0078111RF1AG087325-01
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 792
• Locations: 1 country
• Sites: 2

Brief Summary

The palliative care education in assisted living for dementia care providers (PCEAL-DCP) is a 4-week intervention (once a week for 1.5 hours, a total of 6 hours) for licensed nurses, administrators and dementia care coordinators to improve quality of dementia care outcomes

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease; End of Life; Caregiver Burden; Caregiver Burnout; Patient Participation; Self Efficacy

Keywords

end of life; palliative care; education; staff training; assisted living; dementia; dementia care; Alzheimer's

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Documentation of Advance Care Planning (ACP) Discussions

  Resident Chart: Percent of residents in sample with documentation in chart of any discussion of ACP with residents or family, last 90 days. Resident Chart: Percent of residents in sample with living will, health care surrogate, durable power of attorney and do not resuscitate (DNR)s in chart. (yes/no).

  Baseline, 3, and 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Hospice Use

  Baseline, 3, and 6 months

Other Outcomes (4)

• Palliative Care Staff Knowledge

  Baseline, 3, and 6 months

• Staff Self-Efficacy

  Baseline, 3, and 6 months

• Staff commitment

  Baseline, 3, and 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Intervention -

EXPERIMENTAL

Hospice nurses or social workers selected from LifePath and Suncoast Hospice organizations will train the AL interventionists on the PCEAL-DCP intervention. All hospice nurses and social workers who are facilitators will be licensed practical nurses, registered nurses or master's in social work. Prior to the intervention, the hospice facilitators will complete a four-hour workshop about the topics to cover and be trained on the protocol to follow for facilitation of the four-week PCEAL sessions so each cluster in the treatment group is trained in the same manner.

Behavioral: Palliative Care Training

Control

NO INTERVENTION

Wait-listed group will receive the PCEAL-DCP curriculum after completion of the study.

Interventions

Palliative Care Training BEHAVIORAL

Teaching about caring for individuals with

Intervention -

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 21 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• The AL community eligibility criteria include a minimum of 40+ beds and provide memory care services to at least 35% of their residents, and access to hospice services from Lifepath or Suncoast Hospice. The AL size of 40+ beds is selected so we will be able to recruit a minimum of 14 residents per site, based on the power analysis for the sample size of 450 for the primary study outcome of documentation of ACP discussions.
• Residents are eligible if 1) they have a dementia diagnosis confirmed by the resident's physician (physician's signature required by University of South Florida (USF) Institutional Reiew Board (IRB) in prior clinical trial) regardless of dementia severity (mild, moderate, or severe), 2) if they have been admitted to the AL in the last month, and 3) if they have a legally responsible representative who understands English.
• Staff are eligible if they are currently employed with the participating study AL as a registered/licensed practical nurse, administrator, or dementia care coordinator of a memory care unit and English speaking and 21 years of age or older.
• Family members are eligible if 1) they are listed as the legally responsible party in the chart records for the resident with ADRD, 2) they understand English, and 3) are at least 21 years of age or older. This could include someone related to the person, a close friend or a legal guardian who oversees the person's care and is responsible for decisions about their care.

You may not qualify if:

• AL sites will be ineligible if 1) the are not a licensed Florida assisted living facility; 2) they have previously participated in a PCEAL-DCP clinical trial (2018-2021) to avoid possible experimental contamination effects, and 3) if no staff employed at the AL are willing to participate in the study.
• Residents are ineligible if they: 1) are currently receiving hospice services because residents who receive hospice are already engaged in ACP discussions upon admission; 2) if they are discharged from assisted living to another setting (nursing home or hospital) or are admitted to hospice or have died before baseline data is collected.
• Staff will be ineligible if they are not licensed nurses, administrators or dementia care coordinators of a dementia care unit or terminated/resign before baseline data is collected.
• Family are ineligible if: 1) they are under 21 years of age and do not understand spoken or written English and if there is already a legal authorized representative for a resident participating in the study (one family member per resident).

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of South Florida: lead
• National Institute on Aging (NIA): collaborator

Study Sites (2)

University of South Florida

Tampa, Florida, 33612, United States

RECRUITING

University of South Florida

Tampa, Florida, 33620, United States

RECRUITING

Related Publications (2)

• Dobbs D, Yauk J, Vogel CE, Fanfan D, Buck H, Haley WE, Meng H. Feasibility of the Palliative Care Education in Assisted Living Intervention for Dementia Care Providers: A Cluster Randomized Trial. Gerontologist. 2024 Jan 1;64(1):gnad018. doi: 10.1093/geront/gnad018.

  PMID: 36842068 BACKGROUND

• Bureau Y, Rodat G, Barriere H, Litoux P, Bureau B. [Cutaneous mastocytosis in adults with hepatic mastocytosis and blood monocytosis]. Bull Soc Fr Dermatol Syphiligr. 1965 Nov-Dec;72(6):850-3. No abstract available. French.

  PMID: 5881970 BACKGROUND

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Alzheimer Disease; Death; Caregiver Burden; Patient Participation; Dementia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Tauopathies; Neurodegenerative Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders; Pathologic Processes; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Behavioral Symptoms; Behavior; Patient Acceptance of Health Care; Treatment Adherence and Compliance; Health Behavior

Study Officials

• Debra Dobbs, PhD

  University of South Florida

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Debra Dobbs, PhD

CONTACT

813-974-5767; ddobbs@usf.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: SINGLE
• Who Masked: OUTCOMES ASSESSOR
• Masking Details: Two research study nurses blinded to the intervention will be trained and a rating manual provided to assist in gaining a 90% IRR.
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: SPONSOR

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 3, 2024
• First Posted: December 9, 2024
• Study Start: January 28, 2025
• Primary Completion (Estimated): December 1, 2028
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2029
• Last Updated: April 29, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-04

Locations

US (2)