Alzheimer DiseaseRCTMNCT02915939
The Residential Care Transition Module
A study testing The Residential Care Transition Module in people with Alzheimer Disease and Dementia, run by University of Minnesota at 1 site in United States.
Trial summary
Emerging research on family caregiving and institutionalization has emphasized that families do not disengage from care responsibilities following a relative's admission to residential long-term care settings. Read more about this study
- Who is it for?
- Ages 21 years and olderHealthy volunteers can take part
- Conditions the study is for
- Alzheimer Disease, Dementia
- What is being tested?
- The Residential Care Transition Module
- Type of treatment
- Lifestyle or therapy programme
- Could I receive a placebo?
- No, everyone receives an active treatment
- How many people
- 240 participants
- Where
- 1 siteUnited States
- Study dates
- Dec 2016to 30 Aug 2021
- Phase
- Interventional
- Are there results?
- None posted in the registry
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 21 years and older
- All sexes
- Healthy volunteers accepted
- Adult, Older adult
Who may be able to join
- Family caregivers of relatives who have received a physician's diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD)
- Family caregivers who consider themselves the most involved in visiting and providing assistance to a relative experiencing a long-stay admission to an assisted living, nursing home, memory care, or other residential long-term care setting. Those who share the primary caregiving role equally are also eligible.
- Family caregivers must be English speaking, 21 years of age or older
- Family caregivers on psychotropic medications, such as anti-depressants or anti-psychotics, will be eligible if they have remained on a stable dosage for the last 3 months
Who cannot join
- Family caregivers who are participating in any other type of service that provides one-to-one psychosocial consultation specifically for caregiving (support group participation is not a deterrent to enrollment, nor is general counseling not specific to caregiving)
Trial locations and contacts
1 site in 1 country.
United States1 site
University of Minnesota, School of Nursing, 6-153 Weaver-Densford Hall
Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55455
About this study
Emerging research on family caregiving and institutionalization has emphasized that families do not disengage from care responsibilities following a relative's admission to residential long-term care settings. The Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) provides 6 formal sessions of consultation (one-to-one and family sessions) over a 4-month period to those family caregivers who have admitted a cognitively impaired relative to a residential long-term care setting (nursing home, assisted living memory care unit). The proposed mixed method, randomized controlled trial will determine whether and how the RCTM decreases family caregivers' emotional and psychological distress, placement-related strain, and increases relative's transitions back to the community. The RCTM will fill an important clinical and research gap by evaluating a psychosocial intervention designed for families following RLTC placement to determine whether and how this approach can help families better navigate the residential care transitions of relatives with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia.
Read the detailed description
Emerging research on family caregiving and institutionalization has found that families do not disengage from care responsibilities following relatives' admissions to residential long-term care settings. Families instead remain involved in a spectrum of care activities ranging from instrumental activities of daily living to emotional support. Perhaps for these reasons, a number of studies have noted that caregiving stress, depression, or other key outcomes remain stable or sometimes increase following residential long-term care (RLTC) entry for certain types of caregivers. A few interventions have attempted to increase family involvement after institutionalization, but no rigorous studies have demonstrated that these interventions are effective in helping families navigate transitions to RLTC environments.
The Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) provides 6 formal sessions of consultation (one-to-one and family sessions) over a 4-month period to those family caregivers who have recently admitted a relative to a RLTC setting. In this randomized controlled trial, family members who have admitted a cognitively impaired relative to a RLTC setting will be randomly assigned to the RCTM [(n = 120)] or a usual care control condition [(n = 120)]. A mixed methods analysis will be used to pursue the following aims: Specific Aim 1: Assess whether the RCTM yields statistically significant reductions in family members' primary subjective stress and negative mental health outcomes; Specific Aim 2) Determine whether family members who receive the RCTM will indicate statistically significant decreases in secondary role strains over a 12-month period when compared to usual care controls; Specific Aim 3) Determine whether RCTM family members report statistically significant decreases in residential care stress when compared to family members in the usual care control group; and Specific Aim 4) Delineate the mechanism of action of RCTM under conditions of high and low success by "embedding" qualitative components (30 semi-structured interviews) at the conclusion of the 12-month evaluation.
The proposed project will fill an important clinical and research gap by evaluating a psychosocial intervention designed for families following RLTC placement that determines whether and how the RCTM can help families better navigate the residential care transitions of cognitively impaired relatives.
- Conditions
- Alzheimer Disease, Dementia
- Being tested
- The Residential Care Transition Module
- Keywords
- Family caregiving, Institutionalization, Residential long-term care, Placement, Psychosocial support, Dementia, Caregivers, Nursing homes, Assisted Living Facilities, Long-Term Care, Intervention Study, Psychosocial Support Systems, Social Support, Coping, COVID-19
- Medical subject headings
- Alzheimer Disease, Dementia, COVID-19
What participants receive
What participants receive. In a randomised study each person is assigned to one group by chance.
The Residential Care Transition ModuleBehavioural
Residential Care Transition Module sessions focus on the experiences of the caregiver, the care recipient, and (potentially) other family members immediately following residential long-term care (RLTC) admission. The sessions are designed to establish a therapeutic rapport with the caregiver and the family; provide a safe environment to explore stressors; examine family relational dynamics as they relate to the RLTC placement decision itself as well as the roles different family members play in the life of the caregiver and relative in RLTC; identify new modes of communication to facilitate more effective interactions with other family members and care staff; and identify effective ways to advocate for improved quality of care for and quality of life of their relatives in RLTC.
| Study group | Role | What they receive |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment Group | Experimental | The Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) includes six in-person consultation sessions over a 4-month period conducted by a trained Transition Counselor (TC) with a primary family caregiver (self-identified as the person most responsible for providing on-going assistance to the care recipient in a residential long-term care setting such (RLTC) such as a nursing home or assisted living memory care unit. Receives: Behavioral: The Residential Care Transition Module |
| Usual Care Group | No intervention | The usual care control group will adjust for the social engagement provided to the Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM )treatment condition. The Transition Counselor (TC) will provide quarterly contact calls and the research coordinator will send a bi-annual project newsletter to all participants. If caregivers in the control group initiate contact with the TC for care needs, the TC will provide information and referral support. |
What is being measured
The primary outcome is the main question the study is designed to answer.
Change in care-related strain
A 7-item measure of care-related strain that assesses the stress family caregivers perceive as a result of having a relative in residential care
Measured: 12 months
Change in burden: Zarit Burden Interview
A 7-item version of the Zarit Burden Interview
Measured: 12 months
Change in stress: Perceived Stress Scale
The Perceived Stress Scale
Measured: 12 months
Secondary outcomes (2)
Quantitative measure of resilience to negative psychosocial effects of COVID-19
Compare trajectories of caregiver stress and well-being across the treatment and control groups using quantitative (survey) data to determine whether the RCTM provides benefits in the context of COVID-19.
Measured: 0, 1 and 4 months post-pandemic onset
Qualitative measure of resilience to negative psychosocial effects of COVID-19
Compare trajectories of caregiver stress and well-being across the treatment and control groups using qualitative (experiences) data to determine whether the RCTM provides benefits in the context of COVID-19.
Measured: 0, 1 and 4 months post-pandemic onset
Timeline
From the start of the study to its completion; the mark is today. Estimated dates are the sponsor’s plan.
- First posted27 Sep 2016 (estimated)
- Study startDec 2016
- Primary completion14 May 2021
- Study completion30 Aug 2021
Resources
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govThe registry entry this page is built from, with its full change history.
- Publications (5)Papers the sponsor has linked to this study.
- Other trials for Alzheimer DiseaseStudies of the same condition, open and under way.
- What the trial phases meanHow a treatment moves from first tests in people to approval.
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
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind
- Who is masked
- Outcomes assessor
- Enrolment
- 240 participants (actual)
Sponsor and investigators
- Lead sponsor
- University of Minnesota
- Sponsor type
- University, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Johns Hopkins University, NYU Langone Health, Benjamin Rose Institute, Emory University
- Responsible party
- Sponsor
- Investigators
- Joseph E. Gaugler, PhD, Principal investigator, University of Minnesota
IDs, dates and publications
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02915939
- Sponsor's protocol ID
- 1511S80406
- Acronym
- RCTM
- Status last verified
- Jul 2022
- First submitted
- 19 Sep 2016
- Last updated
- 3 Aug 2022
- Results posted
- No
- Data monitoring committee
- No
- Individual data sharing
- Yes: The de-identified data supporting our findings will be shared on the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA).
Publications
Zmora R, Statz TL, Birkeland RW, McCarron HR, Finlay JM, Rosebush CE, Gaugler JE. Transitioning to Long-Term Care: Family Caregiver Experiences of Dementia, Communities, and Counseling. J Aging Health. 2021 Jan;33(1-2):133-146. doi: 10.1177/0898264320963588. Epub 2020 Sep 29.
PubMed 32990494Gaugler JE, Statz TL, Birkeland RW, Louwagie KW, Peterson CM, Zmora R, Emery A, McCarron HR, Hepburn K, Whitlatch CJ, Mittelman MS, Roth DL. The ResidentialCare Transition Module: a single-blinded randomized controlled evaluation of a telehealth support intervention for family caregivers of persons with dementia living in residential long-term care. BMC Geriatr. 2020 Apr 15;20(1):133. doi: 10.1186/s12877-020-01542-7.
PubMed 32293314Mitchell LL, Albers EA, Birkeland RW, Peterson CM, Stabler H, Horn B, Cha J, Drake A, Gaugler JE. Caring for a Relative With Dementia in Long-Term Care During COVID-19. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022 Mar;23(3):428-433.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.11.026. Epub 2021 Dec 17.
PubMed 34929196Gaugler JE, Mitchell LL. Reimagining Family Involvement in Residential Long-Term Care. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022 Feb;23(2):235-240. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.12.022. Epub 2021 Dec 29.
PubMed 34973167Urbanski DP, Birkeland RW, Albers EA, Roth DL, Baker ZG, Gustavson AM, Yam H, Gaugler JE. Process evaluation of the residential care transition module. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Oct 27;25(1):1412. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-13547-2.
PubMed 41146257
Study at a glance
From the registry record, last updated by the sponsor on 3 Aug 2022. Recruitment status is as the sponsor reported it: confirm with the study team.
- Official title
- The Residential Care Transition Module
- ClinicalTrials.gov ID
- NCT02915939
- Acronym / sponsor ID
- RCTM / 1511S80406
- Conditions
- Alzheimer Disease, Dementia
- Keywords
- Family caregiving, Institutionalization, Residential long-term care, Placement, Psychosocial support, Dementia, Caregivers, Nursing homes
- Study type
- Interventional
- Recruitment status
- Completed
- Enrolment
- 240 participants (actual)
- Lead sponsor
- University of MinnesotaUniversity, hospital or other
- Collaborators
- Johns Hopkins University, NYU Langone Health, Benjamin Rose Institute, Emory University
- Study start
- Dec 2016 (actual)
- Primary completion
- 14 May 2021 (actual)
- Study completion
- 30 Aug 2021 (actual)
- First posted
- 27 Sep 2016 (estimated)
- Results
- Not posted in the source record
Clinical summary
The research question as the sponsor registered it. This describes what the study plans to test, not what it found.
Emerging research on family caregiving and institutionalization has emphasized that families do not disengage from care responsibilities following a relative's admission to residential long-term care settings. The Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) provides 6 formal sessions of consultation (one-to-one and family sessions) over a 4-month period to those family caregivers who have admitted a cognitively impaired relative to a residential long-term care setting (nursing home, assisted living memory care unit). The proposed mixed method, randomized controlled trial will determine whether and how the RCTM decreases family caregivers' emotional and psychological distress, placement-related strain, and increases relative's transitions back to the community. The RCTM will fill an important clinical and research gap by evaluating a psychosocial intervention designed for families following RLTC placement to determine whether and how this approach can help families better navigate the residential care transitions of relatives with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia.
Detailed description
Emerging research on family caregiving and institutionalization has found that families do not disengage from care responsibilities following relatives' admissions to residential long-term care settings. Families instead remain involved in a spectrum of care activities ranging from instrumental activities of daily living to emotional support. Perhaps for these reasons, a number of studies have noted that caregiving stress, depression, or other key outcomes remain stable or sometimes increase following residential long-term care (RLTC) entry for certain types of caregivers. A few interventions have attempted to increase family involvement after institutionalization, but no rigorous studies have demonstrated that these interventions are effective in helping families navigate transitions to RLTC environments.
The Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) provides 6 formal sessions of consultation (one-to-one and family sessions) over a 4-month period to those family caregivers who have recently admitted a relative to a RLTC setting. In this randomized controlled trial, family members who have admitted a cognitively impaired relative to a RLTC setting will be randomly assigned to the RCTM [(n = 120)] or a usual care control condition [(n = 120)]. A mixed methods analysis will be used to pursue the following aims: Specific Aim 1: Assess whether the RCTM yields statistically significant reductions in family members' primary subjective stress and negative mental health outcomes; Specific Aim 2) Determine whether family members who receive the RCTM will indicate statistically significant decreases in secondary role strains over a 12-month period when compared to usual care controls; Specific Aim 3) Determine whether RCTM family members report statistically significant decreases in residential care stress when compared to family members in the usual care control group; and Specific Aim 4) Delineate the mechanism of action of RCTM under conditions of high and low success by "embedding" qualitative components (30 semi-structured interviews) at the conclusion of the 12-month evaluation.
The proposed project will fill an important clinical and research gap by evaluating a psychosocial intervention designed for families following RLTC placement that determines whether and how the RCTM can help families better navigate the residential care transitions of cognitively impaired relatives.
Study design
- Primary purpose
- Supportive care
- Allocation
- Randomised
- Intervention model
- Parallel groups
- Masking
- Single blind (outcomes assessor)
- Number of arms
- 2
| Arm | Type | Receives |
|---|---|---|
| Treatment Group | Experimental | Behavioral: The Residential Care Transition ModuleThe Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) includes six in-person consultation sessions over a 4-month period conducted by a trained Transition Counselor (TC) with a primary family caregiver (self-identified as the person most responsible for providing on-going assistance to the care recipient in a residential long-term care setting such (RLTC) such as a nursing home or assisted living memory care unit. |
| Usual Care Group | No intervention | –The usual care control group will adjust for the social engagement provided to the Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM )treatment condition. The Transition Counselor (TC) will provide quarterly contact calls and the research coordinator will send a bi-annual project newsletter to all participants. If caregivers in the control group initiate contact with the TC for care needs, the TC will provide information and referral support. |
Who may qualify
- Ages
- 21 years and older
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Accepted
- Age groups
- Adult, Older adult
Key inclusion criteria (4 listed)
- Family caregivers of relatives who have received a physician's diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD)
- Family caregivers who consider themselves the most involved in visiting and providing assistance to a relative experiencing a long-stay admission to an assisted living, nursing home, memory care, or other residential long-term care setting. Those who share the primary caregiving role equally are also eligible.
- Family caregivers must be English speaking, 21 years of age or older
- Family caregivers on psychotropic medications, such as anti-depressants or anti-psychotics, will be eligible if they have remained on a stable dosage for the last 3 months
Key exclusion criteria (1 listed)
- Family caregivers who are participating in any other type of service that provides one-to-one psychosocial consultation specifically for caregiving (support group participation is not a deterrent to enrollment, nor is general counseling not specific to caregiving)
Eligibility is decided by the study team after screening; this overview does not establish that a patient qualifies. Full inclusion and exclusion criteria.
Interventions
| Intervention | Type | Arms |
|---|---|---|
| The Residential Care Transition ModuleResidential Care Transition Module sessions focus on the experiences of the caregiver, the care recipient, and (potentially) other family members immediately following residential long-term care (RLTC) admission. The sessions are designed to establish a therapeutic rapport with the caregiver and the family; provide a safe environment to explore stressors; examine family relational dynamics as they relate to the RLTC placement decision itself as well as the roles different family members play in the life of the caregiver and relative in RLTC; identify new modes of communication to facilitate more effective interactions with other family members and care staff; and identify effective ways to advocate for improved quality of care for and quality of life of their relatives in RLTC. | Behavioural | Treatment Group |
Primary outcome
Change in care-related strain
Time frame: 12 months
A 7-item measure of care-related strain that assesses the stress family caregivers perceive as a result of having a relative in residential care
Change in burden: Zarit Burden Interview
Time frame: 12 months
A 7-item version of the Zarit Burden Interview
Change in stress: Perceived Stress Scale
Time frame: 12 months
The Perceived Stress Scale
2 secondary outcomes
Quantitative measure of resilience to negative psychosocial effects of COVID-19
Time frame: 0, 1 and 4 months post-pandemic onset
Qualitative measure of resilience to negative psychosocial effects of COVID-19
Time frame: 0, 1 and 4 months post-pandemic onset
Results and safety
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
Research links
- Official record on ClinicalTrials.govLast updated by the sponsor 3 Aug 2022.
- Background: PubMed 32990494Zmora R, Statz TL, Birkeland RW, McCarron HR, Finlay JM, Rosebush CE, Gaugler JE. Transitioning to Long-Term Care: Family Caregiver Experiences of Dementia, Communities, and Counseling. J Aging Health. 2021 Jan;33(1-2):133-146. doi: 10.1177/0898264320963588. Epub 2020 Sep 29.
- Background: PubMed 32293314Gaugler JE, Statz TL, Birkeland RW, Louwagie KW, Peterson CM, Zmora R, Emery A, McCarron HR, Hepburn K, Whitlatch CJ, Mittelman MS, Roth DL. The ResidentialCare Transition Module: a single-blinded randomized controlled evaluation of a telehealth support intervention for family caregivers of persons with dementia living in residential long-term care. BMC Geriatr. 2020 Apr 15;20(1):133. doi: 10.1186/s12877-020-01542-7.
- Background: PubMed 34929196Mitchell LL, Albers EA, Birkeland RW, Peterson CM, Stabler H, Horn B, Cha J, Drake A, Gaugler JE. Caring for a Relative With Dementia in Long-Term Care During COVID-19. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022 Mar;23(3):428-433.e1. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.11.026. Epub 2021 Dec 17.
- Background: PubMed 34973167Gaugler JE, Mitchell LL. Reimagining Family Involvement in Residential Long-Term Care. J Am Med Dir Assoc. 2022 Feb;23(2):235-240. doi: 10.1016/j.jamda.2021.12.022. Epub 2021 Dec 29.
- Derived from this study: PubMed 41146257Urbanski DP, Birkeland RW, Albers EA, Roth DL, Baker ZG, Gustavson AM, Yam H, Gaugler JE. Process evaluation of the residential care transition module. BMC Health Serv Res. 2025 Oct 27;25(1):1412. doi: 10.1186/s12913-025-13547-2.
- Individual participant dataSharing planned: Yes. The de-identified data supporting our findings will be shared on the National Archive of Computerized Data on Aging (NACDA).
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Referral and contact
AzTrials does not enrol participants or take referrals. Contact the study team or a site listed below; they decide who can take part. This study is not recruiting at the moment.
Joseph E. Gaugler, PhD principal investigator
University of Minnesota
1 site in 1 country: see every site and its status.
Questions about this trial
What is this clinical trial studying?
A study testing The Residential Care Transition Module in people with Alzheimer Disease and Dementia, run by University of Minnesota 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 4 inclusion and 1 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 3 Aug 2022. 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?
The study is completed, but results are not available in the source record. That does not mean the treatment did or did not work.
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?
Change in care-related strain (time frame: 12 months). The study lists 3 primary outcomes in all. 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 NCT02915939, 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 3 Aug 2022.