Testing Tele-Savvy: Protocol for a randomized controlled trial.
Mariya A Kovaleva, Elizabeth Bilsborough, Patricia C Griffiths and 8 others
PMID 29399825WHAT IT FOUND
Tele-Savvy, an online dementia caregiver education program, is being tested in a three-arm trial; the paper reports only pilot and recruitment feasibility, not whether it works.
Key findings
01Tele-Savvy is a 43-day online program with seven weekly videoconferences and 36 daily video lessons.
02The planned trial will randomize 270 dementia caregivers into Tele-Savvy (108), Healthy Living attention control (108), or usual care (54).
03At the time of writing, 102 of 270 caregivers had been recruited, and two participants missed videoconferences because of bandwidth or connectivity problems.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
This is a trial protocol, not completed efficacy results. The earlier pilot had no control group, so it cannot show Tele-Savvy caused the changes. The planned sample excludes caregivers without internet, uncorrectable hearing or vision problems, and those who cannot meet the caregiving and language requirements. Dementia diagnoses and caregiver residence types are self-reported and not verified. Recruitment is below target, and African American and Latino caregiver participation is below planned levels. Rural internet access and bandwidth problems may limit who can use the online program. Participants assigned to attention control or usual care may be disappointed because they wait six months for Tele-Savvy.
Declared interests
The trial is supported by R01AG054079 and conducted by NIA-supported Alzheimer’s Disease Centers. The supplied text does not state author conflicts of interest.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that Tele-Savvy works. The paper is a protocol with no completed trial results, and the pilot had no control group.