mHealth Mindfulness for Dementia Caregivers

The objective of this project is to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability and preliminary efficacy of Mindfulness Coach for stress and caregiver burden in caregivers of persons with dementia. The investigators will recruit participants across three outpatient geriatric primary care sites in the RWJ Barnabas Healthcare system: Monmouth, Monroe and New Brunswick.

Mindfulness Coach is a self-guided mHealth intervention designed to help individuals learn MT, an evidence-based treatment to enhance health, wellness and mental health. The app also offers a library of information about MT (e.g., "how to anchor your attention"), 12 audio-guided mindfulness exercises, and a catalog of additional exercises available for free. The app tracks progress over time with a mindfulness mastery assessment, has customizable reminders which the patient will learn to set during orientation, and goal-setting and tracking features, which the patient will learn to customize during orientation. Mindfulness Coach was designed by a multidisciplinary team of experts in telehealth, technology and mental health from the VA's National Center for PTSD and the Department of Defense's National Center for Telehealth and Technology and is free and available on iOS and Android. In this study, the intervention will be introduced during 1 in-person session by a trained research assistant with 1-2 booster instructional phone call at 7 and 14-days to ensure that the participant knows how and is encouraged to use the app. The participant will also be provided with a laminated card that provides the basic instructions. The investigators will encourage the participant to use Mindfulness Coach weekly for 8 weeks, or more if desired, as this treatment dose is commensurate with most in-person MT psychotherapy treatment protocols.

Subjects and Sample Size:The investigators will recruit 60 patients from three RWJ Barnabas sites: Monmouth, Monroe and New Brunswick. Caregivers will be recruited by physician referral. Physicians will identify patients with a diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment and their family caregivers. The term "family caregiver" refers to any family member or relative who is involved in a patient's health care because of a personal connection, not for financial compensation. Family caregivers are eligible if they are age 21 or older, English-speaking, currently own a mobile device (smartphone or tablet) and spend at least 10 hours per week providing care to the older adult patient. Procedures: Providers will notify study coordinator of patients who have a diagnosis of dementia or cognitive impairment and typically have a family caregiver present during medical visits. Emails will be sent to providers to inquire about potential subjects. The study research assistant (RA) will call potential subjects to obtain consent for a phone screen. The screen will include questions about current caregiving practices and questions about mobile device usage (e.g., do participants own a smart phone or tablet? How often do participants use this device?). If a patient is eligible and interested in participating, an in-person baseline assessment and orientation will be scheduled at the primary care provider's office. Informed consent will be obtained in person prior to the baseline assessment. The baseline assessor will also be the individual who orients participants to Mindfulness Coach. Follow-up interviews will be conducted via telephone.

The orientation will consist of the following components: 1.) education about the app, its developers and MT (to establish credibility); 2.) discussion of goals of the app; 3.) procedural information about how to launch and navigate the app; and 4.) assessment of participant's ability to use the app: participants must be able to meet pre-established criteria of being able to open, launch, navigate and use the app independently prior to the end of the orientation session. During orientation, study personnel will discuss the benefits of daily, brief (5-15 minutes) mindfulness practice and ask participants if daily practice is a goal they would be willing to set. If the participant is amenable, study personnel will help participants set reminders (push notifications) within Mindfulness Coach to facilitate daily practice. The investigators will work with each participant to set mindfulness practice goals that are tailored to the unique needs of each participant. Participants will also be given a laminated instructional card explaining how to access and use Mindfulness Coach. Booster sessions: The study RA will schedule a 1-week booster phone call with intervention participants to troubleshoot potential difficulties users may be experiencing with the application. At this session, participants will be asked if they have used the app in their first week. If they have not, the investigators will schedule an additional follow up booster session phone call at 2-weeks to provide additional troubleshooting and encouragement.