Pilot Study of the Residential Care Transition Module to Support Australian Spouses of People with Dementia

Objectives Spouses are at risk of poor psychosocial outcomes following placement of their partner with dementia into long-term care. The Residential Care Transition Module (RCTM) is a psychosocial intervention developed in the United States to support carers post-placement. This study aimed to test the RCTM delivered by telephone to Australian spousal carers. Methods A small-scale RCT [N = 21] was conducted to test feasibility of recruitment, retention, acceptability, and preliminary effects on measures of stress, grief, depression, guilt, quality-of-life, and satisfaction with care, compared to a group receiving printed information. Results The Transition Counselor and study participants considered the intervention delivery, dose, and content as acceptable. Retention was high (91%). At follow-up, significant time effects were found for stress, depression and "nursing home hassles." A significant interaction effect was found for quality-of-life in favor of the comparison group. No effects were found for guilt or overall grief, however a promising result regarding the sub-scale of "acceptance of loss" was found in favor of the RCTM. Conclusions The delivery of the RCTM to Australian spousal carers was feasible and acceptable. Clinical implications The RCTM shows potential for improving support to spouses of people with dementia following long-term care placement.