Relieving distressed caregivers (ReDiCare study): study protocol of a randomized pragmatic trial

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Caregiver Support
• Translational Research in Health Interventions
• Psychological and Social Health

Background:

• Informal caregivers experience significant psychological, physical, social, and economic burdens.
• Despite extensive research, few caregiver interventions are translated into routine practice.
• The ReDiCare study addresses the gap in implementing successful caregiver support strategies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the effectiveness of a stepped counseling approach for burdened informal caregivers.
• To assess the intervention's impact on depressive symptoms, physical complaints, and caregiver burden.
• To provide insights for future implementation of caregiver interventions in routine services.

Main Methods:

• Pragmatic randomized controlled trial involving 572 caregivers of older adults.
• Comparison of the ReDiCare intervention group with a control group receiving routine care.
• Data collection at multiple time points, with the primary endpoint at 9-month post-intervention.

Main Results:

• The study primary outcome is the reduction in depressive symptoms (CES-D).
• Secondary outcomes include physical complaints, psychosocial resource utilization, self-efficacy, and burden.
• A process evaluation and health economic analysis will examine intervention validity and costs.

Conclusions:

• The ReDiCare study investigates the effectiveness of a stepped approach for a broad caregiver population.
• Findings will inform the translation of caregiver interventions into routine care.
• The study contributes valuable data on intervention effectiveness, adherence, and cost for implementation.