AzTrials
AzTrials

MalnutritionNCT00841412

Prevention of Weight Loss in Long Term Care Veterans

A study testing Immediate Intervention Group and Delayed Intervention Group in people with Malnutrition, run by US Department of Veterans Affairs at 1 site in United States.

Completed

Finished. The study has ended and is not enrolling. Results may be posted on the official record.

Official record
Search all trials

Trial summary

Background: Numerous studies have shown that many LTC residents receive inadequate staff assistance with eating, which places them at risk for under-nutrition, dehydration and weight loss. Read more about this study

Who is it for?
Ages 65 years and older
Conditions the study is for
Malnutrition
What is being tested?
Immediate Intervention Group and Delayed Intervention Group
Could I receive a placebo?
No, everyone receives an active treatment
How many people
222 participants
Where
1 siteUnited States
Study dates
Feb 2009to Sep 2013
Phase
Interventional
Are there results?
Yes, posted in the registrySummary in the doctors' view

Key requirements

Who can take part, as listed by the sponsor. Only the study team can confirm whether you are eligible, so take this list to your doctor.

  • Ages 65 years and older
  • All sexes
  • No healthy volunteers
  • Older adult

Who may be able to join

  • Long-stay,
  • free of feeding tube,
  • not receiving hospice care,
  • not on a planned weight loss diet,
  • able to speak English

Who cannot join

  • short stay/rehab only
  • feeding tube
  • hospice
  • planned weight loss diet

Trial locations and contacts

1 site in 1 country.

United States1 site
  • Tennessee Valley Healthcare System Nashville Campus, Nashville, TN

    Nashville, Tennessee, 37212-2637

Other trials in United States

About this study

Official title: Prevention of Weight Loss in Long-Term Care Veterans

Background: Numerous studies have shown that many LTC residents receive inadequate staff assistance with eating, which places them at risk for under-nutrition, dehydration and weight loss. Moreover, improvements in feeding assistance care have been shown to improve residents' daily food and fluid consumption and weight loss outcomes.

Objectives: The purpose of this program evaluation project is to train indigenous LTC staff how to improve nutritional care within the constraints of existing staffing resources.

Read more

Methods: A multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in one federal and one state VA LTC facility. Research staff collected baseline measures related to nutritional care processes and resident outcomes. All LTC units in each of the two sites were divided into two groups for program implementation. The program was implemented with staff and residents on the units in the immediate intervention group; while, the delayed intervention group remained in usual care and continued to be monitored monthly for all care process and resident outcome measures.

Status: This project ended 10/1/13. Five published papers resulted from this study.

Read the detailed description

Background:

Numerous studies have shown that many long term care (LTC) residents receive inadequate staff assistance with eating, which places them at risk for under-nutrition, dehydration and weight loss. Moreover, improvements in feeding assistance care have been shown to improve residents' daily food and fluid consumption and weight loss outcomes. However, these improvements have only been achieved through the use of research staff as opposed to indigenous LTC staff due to staffing resource limitations that exist in most LTC facilities. The purpose of this program evaluation project is to train indigenous LTC staff how to improve nutritional care within the constraints of existing staffing resources.

Objectives:

The PI of this proposal has developed standardized assessment, monitoring and staffing needs projection tools that can be used by long-term care (LTC) providers to improve feeding assistance care delivery and unintentional weight loss outcomes. The primary objective of this project is to train indigenous LTC staff how to (1) identify residents in need of feeding assistance, (2) effectively monitor daily care delivery; and, (3) utilize existing, non-nursing staff for some mealtime tasks to improve care.

Methods:

A multiple baseline design was used to evaluate the effectiveness of the program in one federal and one state VA long-term care (LTC) facility. Research staff collected baseline measures related to organizational characteristics, including staffing, nutritional care processes and resident outcomes including oral food and fluid intake and weight status. All LTC units in each of the two sites were divided into two groups for program implementation purposes (for a total of 4 groups across the 2 sites) based on the proximity of a unit to other units, resident and staff characteristics. The program was implemented with staff and residents on the units in the first site/group; while, the second site/group remained in usual care and continued to be monitored monthly for all care process and resident outcome measures. Research staff trained LTC staff in the implementation of program protocols during a 12-week intervention period. Research staff then monitored LTC staff implementation of the program monthly following intervention to determine the sustainability of the program in the absence of research staff. All staff training and monitoring was repeated for the LTC units in groups three and four. The intent of this program evaluation study was to determine the effectiveness and cost of translating efficacious research protocols into care practice to improve the nutritional status of LTC veterans.

Status: This study is officially complete.

Conditions
Malnutrition
Being tested
Immediate Intervention Group, Delayed Intervention Group
Keywords
Usual Care Control Group
Medical subject headings
Malnutrition

What participants receive

What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.

  • Immediate Intervention GroupBehavioural

    Unit staff received weekly training and feedback for 12-weeks to improve daily nutritional care processes.

  • Delayed Intervention GroupBehavioural

    Research staff monitored this group under usual care conditions, then these units crossed over into intervention.

Study groups in NCT00841412
Study groupRoleWhat they receive
Immediate Intervention GroupExperimentalImmediate Intervention: Long term care units assigned to the Immediate Intervention group were first to receive the staff training and management intervention to improve nutritional care processes.
Receives: Behavioral: Immediate Intervention Group
Delayed Intervention GroupActive comparatorDelayed Intervention: Long term care units assigned to the Delayed Intervention group were monitored under usual care conditions to serve as a control for the Immediate Intervention group. Then, these units received the staff training and management intervention at a later date.
Receives: Behavioral: Delayed Intervention Group

What is being measured

The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.

  1. Quality of Feeding Assistance Care Processes

    Research staff observed each participant during six meals per study phase. Research staff documented the total amount of staff time spent providing feeding assistance and each type of assistance per resident per meal. These data were used to construct standardized "feeding assistance care quality indicators" wherein the number of resident meal observations was variable. For example, one indicator was defined as: Percentage of meals during which resident intake was below 50% and staff offered and alternative to the served meal". Thus, the denominator for total number of observed meals scored varied by indicator. There were multiple indicators; thus, there is inadequate space to provide an adequate description of each measure and the corresponding scoring rules here. Please refer to published papers for a complete description of all outcome measures.

    Measured: 3 month intervention and 3 month follow up periods

Timeline

From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.

  1. First posted11 Feb 2009 (estimated)
  2. Study startFeb 2009
  3. Primary completionOct 2011
  4. Study completionSep 2013

Resources

More details

For doctors and researchers: how the study is designed, who runs it, and its registry IDs.

Study design
Study type
Interventional
Phase
Phase N/A
Primary purpose
Treatment
Allocation
Randomised
Intervention model
Crossover
Masking
None (open label)
Enrolment
222 participants (actual)
IDs, dates and publications
ClinicalTrials.gov ID
NCT00841412
Sponsor's protocol ID
IIR 07-250
Status last verified
Oct 2014
First submitted
9 Feb 2009
Last updated
27 Apr 2015
Data monitoring committee
Yes

Publications

  • Simmons SF, Durkin DW, Shotwell MS, Erwin S, Schnelle JF. A staff training and management intervention in VA long-term care: impact on feeding assistance care quality. Transl Behav Med. 2013 Jun;3(2):189-99. doi: 10.1007/s13142-013-0194-3.

    PubMed 24073169
  • Simmons SF, Sims N, Durkin DW, Shotwell MS, Erwin S, Schnelle JF. The quality of feeding assistance care practices for long-term care veterans: implications for quality improvement efforts. J Appl Gerontol. 2013 Sep;32(6):669-86. doi: 10.1177/0733464811433487. Epub 2012 Mar 22.

    PubMed 25474793
  • Durkin DW, Shotwell MS, Simmons SF. The impact of family visitation on feeding assistance quality in nursing homes. J Appl Gerontol. 2014 Aug;33(5):586-602. doi: 10.1177/0733464814522126. Epub 2014 Feb 18.

    PubMed 24652932
  • Durkin DW, Umayam SP, Sims N, Cleeton P, Simmons SF. Whom do veteran nursing home residents prefer to talk to about satisfaction with care?: implications for nursing staff. J Gerontol Nurs. 2012 Dec;38(12):38-45. doi: 10.3928/00989134-20121109-01.

    PubMed 23189996
  • Simmons SF, Durkin DW, Rahman AN, Schnelle JF, Beuscher LM. The value of resident choice during daily care: do staff and families differ? J Appl Gerontol. 2014 Sep;33(6):655-71. doi: 10.1177/0733464812454010. Epub 2012 Aug 1.

    PubMed 25143465

Questions about this trial

What is this clinical trial studying?

A study testing Immediate Intervention Group and Delayed Intervention Group in people with Malnutrition, run by US Department of Veterans Affairs at 1 site in United States.

The full registered description is in the About this study section and the official record.

Who may be eligible to take part?

The sponsor lists 5 inclusion and 4 exclusion criteria. Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening, so read the full criteria and contact a listed site.

Is this clinical trial currently recruiting?

The record says: finished, as of the sponsor's last update on 27 Apr 2015. Status can change between updates, so confirm with the study contact before making plans.

Where is the study taking place?

The record lists 1 site in United States. Whether a site is taking part right now should be confirmed with that site. See every site.

What are the possible benefits and risks?

They depend on the study and the treatment, and no study can promise a benefit. The study team explains the known risks during informed consent, before anyone joins; the record itself does not list them.

Are results available for this study?

Yes. Results are posted in the registry (first posted 10 Nov 2014). A summary is in the For doctors view, and the full results are on ClinicalTrials.gov.

How can a doctor refer a patient or contact the research team?

The record lists no contact. The official record names the sponsor, who can be asked directly. AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals.

What does the primary outcome measure?

Quality of Feeding Assistance Care Processes (time frame: 3 month intervention and 3 month follow up periods). It is what the study was designed to measure, not a finding.

Where can I read the original study information?

On the ClinicalTrials.gov record for NCT00841412, which also lists 5 linked publications.

Does a listing mean the treatment is approved or proven to work?

No. A listing means the study is registered. It does not show that the treatment is safe, works, or is approved by a regulator.

How often is this information updated?

AzTrials copies changed records from ClinicalTrials.gov every night and reloads the whole registry every week. The sponsor last updated this record on 27 Apr 2015.

Free account

Log in to keep searching

You’ve used your 3 free searches. AzTrials is free: log in or create a free account to keep searching clinical trials and save the ones you want to follow.

Create a free accountLog in