Hospital stays are stressful for the family and friends who care for adults with dementia. Following hospital discharge, adults with dementia often have increased care needs, which places new caregiving demands on their family and friends. Family and friends are critical to ensuring that Veterans with dementia can live safely in the community following discharge. Healthcare systems have an opportunity to support family and friends of adults with dementia by addressing dementia-specific caregiving challenges that arise during the transition from hospital to home. The investigators are comparing two different support programs for family and friends of hospitalized adults with dementia. The two programs are Hospital GamePlan4Care and Caregiver Education. Hospital GamePlan4Care was developed with feedback from people who care for Veterans with dementia. Hospital GamePlan4Care helps caregivers build skills to care for someone with dementia recently discharged from the hospital. It includes a written handbook, online training on the Hospital GamePlan4Care website, and phone calls with a dementia care specialist. The online training is tailored to the caregiver. The Caregiver Education program provides information that helps caregivers care for someone recently hospitalized. It includes a written handbook, recommendations for high-quality online resources, and phone calls with a dementia care specialist. Both programs will start when the adult with dementia is hospitalized. Each program lasts at least three months. To be eligible, the caregiver must care for a Veteran with dementia admitted to the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Caregivers interested in participating and passing eligibility screening will be enrolled in the study for at least three months. Each enrolled caregiver will have a 50% chance of being enrolled in the Hospital GamePlan4Care group or the Caregiver Education group (like flipping a coin). Both groups will be asked to complete several questionnaires about their needs as a caregiver and their well-being. Questionnaires will be completed at the beginning of the study and one and three months after the Veteran is discharged from the hospital. Each questionnaire should take 30-60 minutes to complete.
Age range
18 Years
Sex
ALL
See this in plain English?
AI-rewrites the medical criteria so a patient or caregiver can understand them. Always confirm with the trial site.
Bring these to your next appointment. They're a starting point for a shared conversation — not a sign you qualify or a recommendation to enrol.
Generated to help you prepare — always confirm anything about your own eligibility and care with the study team and your doctor.
The trial coordinator is the person who runs the study day to day. These cover the practical side — logistics, costs, and what taking part would actually mean for your life. The study team confirms whether you meet the criteria; these are questions to ask, not a sign you qualify.
A starting point for the conversation — always confirm anything about your own eligibility, costs, and care with the study team and your doctor.
Change in Zarit Caregiving Burden Interview (12-item)
Timeframe: Baseline, 30 days and 90 days
Change in Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale (CES-D) (10-item)
Timeframe: Baseline, 30 days, and 90 days
Change in Self-Rated Health (1-item)
Timeframe: Baseline, 30 days, and 90 days
Change in Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire
Timeframe: Baseline, 30 days, and 90 days