The Volunteering-in-Place Program for Apathetic Assisted Living Residents With ADRD

NCT06735950 | Not Yet Recruiting

• 2 other identifiers: HP-001128221R61AG088468-01A1
• Study Type: interventional
• Target: 200
• Locations: 0 countries
• Sites: N/A

Brief Summary

This is a research study to test two different interventions to decrease apathy in assisted living residents with some memory issues. Apathy makes older adults not feel like doing much activity. This study is completely voluntary and will not affect the care you receive at your assisted living community. The two possible interventions are 1) participation in a volunteering opportunity within the assisted living community OR 2) participation in a guided current events group within the assisted living community. These activities would be in addition to any other regular activities you participate in within the assisted living community. Both activities would take place three days per week for approximately 30 minutes. You would be randomly assigned (like a coin flip) to which intervention you would do. You do not get to choose. You would participate in the activity for a total of 6 months. In addition to participating in the intervention (either volunteering or current events), you will be asked to answer some questions about your memory, level of activity, mood, confidence in your ability to do a volunteer job, and feelings of usefulness. You will answer these questions at baseline (before the activity begins, at 3 months after doing the intervention activity, and aging at 6 months after starting the interventions activity. You will also be asked to wear a MotionWatch for 5 days at each time point (baseline, 3months and 6 months). A motion watch measures your level of activity. It feels like wearing a regular watch. You will be in the study for 6 months total. Risks to participating in this study are minimal and include privacy (other people may find out you are in the study), confidentiality of the data collected if someone other than study staff accesses your records, fatigue with answering the questionnaires, and some mild discomfort with wearing the MotionWatch. This is also a minor risk that you could fall or otherwise harm yourself getting to or participating in your intervention activity. The benefit of participating in this study include possible enjoyment of participating in the intervention activity.

Conditions

Apathy in Dementia

Keywords

apathy; assisted living; dementia; volunteering

Outcome Measures

Primary Outcomes (1)

• Apathy Evaluation Scale

  The Apathy Evaluation Scale-Informant (AES-I) will be used to assess apathy. The AES-I has 18 items that assess cognitive, behavioral, and emotional aspects of apathy. The scale has good psychometric properties when used to assess apathy in adults with dementia. The total score ranges from 18 to 72, with higher scores indicating more apathy.

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months

Secondary Outcomes (1)

• Motion Watch

  Baseline, 3 months, 6 months

Study Arms (2)

Volunteering-in-Place Program

EXPERIMENTAL

Participants in this arm will engage in a volunteer activity in the assisted living facility chosen based on their interests and capabilities.

Behavioral: Volunteering in Place Program

Recreational Activity

ACTIVE COMPARATOR

Participants in this arm will engage in a current events group

Behavioral: Recreational activity

Interventions

Volunteering in Place Program BEHAVIORAL

Implementation of the VIP Program consists of 4 steps guided by the Social Ecological Model (SEM) with Interpersonal interventions guided by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), and will be implemented over a 6-month period by research supported Volunteer Coordinators. The four steps of the VIP Program are: Step 1: Stakeholder Team, Staff and Family Education; Step 2: Assessment of AL Environment and Residents Abilities and Interests; Step 3: Ongoing Implementation of the Volunteer Plan; and Step 4: Reassessment of the Volunteer Activity. Participants will volunteer three time per week for approximately 30 minutes.

Also known as: VIP Program

Volunteering-in-Place Program

Recreational activity BEHAVIORAL

The Recreational Activities group intervention will consist of similar staff education regarding the benefits of engaging residents in meaningful activities as described in Step 1 above, without other steps associated with the VIP Program. The Recreational Activities group will be exposed to a research team RA coordinator who will provide a current events activity (reviewing the daily newspaper) for the participants in the RA group three times per week for approximately 30 minutes as an attention control.

Also known as: Current events group

Recreational Activity

Eligibility Criteria

• Age: 55 Years+
• Sex: all
• Healthy Volunteers: No
• Age Groups: Adult (18-64), Older Adult (65+)

You may qualify if:

• age 55 years or older;
• English speaking;
• live in the included AL community
• have mild to moderate cognitive impairment based on a SLUMS score of 26 or below and the ability to follow a one-step command.
• have apathy based on a "yes" answer to at least 2 questions on the apathy subscale of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) completed by a family or staff member who has had close contact with the resident in the past month;
• have an anticipated length of stay of 12 months.

You may not qualify if:

• \- refusal to assent

Sponsors & Collaborators

• University of Maryland, Baltimore: lead
• National Institute on Aging (NIA): collaborator

MeSH Terms

Conditions

Lethargy; Dementia

Condition Hierarchy (Ancestors)

Neurobehavioral Manifestations; Neurologic Manifestations; Nervous System Diseases; Signs and Symptoms; Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms; Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Neurocognitive Disorders; Mental Disorders

Study Officials

• Jennifer Klinedinst, PhD, MPH, RN

  University of Maryland, Baltimore

  PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR

Central Study Contacts

Jennifer Klinedinst, PhD, MPH, RN

CONTACT

410-706-3181; klinedinst@umaryland.edu

Study Design

• Study Type: interventional
• Phase: not applicable
• Allocation: RANDOMIZED
• Masking: NONE
• Purpose: SUPPORTIVE CARE
• Intervention Model: PARALLEL
• Sponsor Type: OTHER
• Responsible Party: PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
• PI Title: Associate Professor

Study Record Dates

• First Submitted: December 11, 2024
• First Posted: December 16, 2024
• Study Start (Estimated): June 15, 2026
• Primary Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Study Completion (Estimated): August 1, 2027
• Last Updated: March 31, 2026

Record last verified: 2026-03

Data Sharing

• IPD Sharing: Will share
• Time Frame: after the conclusion of the study data will be stored in the repository indefinitely
• Access Criteria: People with access to the specified repository.