Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Dementia Care
• Behavioral Interventions

Background:

• Limited understanding exists regarding caregiver withdrawal from behavioral interventions.
• The Tele-STELLA (Support via Technology: Living and Learning with Advancing dementia) intervention aimed to guide family caregivers in managing dementia behavioral symptoms.
• This study focuses on characterizing caregivers who withdrew from the Tele-STELLA telehealth intervention.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify factors associated with caregiver withdrawal from the Tele-STELLA intervention.
• To understand the primary reasons for caregiver dropout in telehealth-based dementia care support.

Main Methods:

• Caregivers who withdrew were compared to those who completed the study.
• Variables analyzed included demographics, dementia characteristics, computer use, burden, and satisfaction.
• Statistical analyses included chi-squared tests for categorical data and t-tests/ANOVA for continuous data.

Main Results:

• 30.3% of caregivers (n=57) withdrew from the intervention.
• Care recipient death was the leading reason for withdrawal (33.9%), particularly after the active intervention.
• Overwhelming responsibilities were another significant reason (21.1%), especially during the active intervention phase.
• Severe dementia in care recipients was associated with withdrawal (p=0.028).
• Withdrawal was not associated with age, race, gender, rural status, computer confidence, burden, or study satisfaction.

Conclusions:

• Family caregivers enroll in interventions even late in the dementia trajectory, indicating a need for support.
• Caregiver withdrawal is primarily linked to care recipient death or overwhelming responsibilities, not study dissatisfaction or demographics.
• Understanding these withdrawal reasons is crucial for improving retention and support in future dementia caregiver interventions.