An Internet-Based Education Program for Care Partners of People Living With Dementia

An Internet-Based Education Program for Care Partners of People Living With Dementia (iGeriCare): A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

With the aging population, the prevalence of dementia is increasing dramatically. People living with dementia are highly dependent on family care partners, who may have little knowledge of the disorder. National and provincial guidelines have all highlighted the importance of online resources to improve care partner education; however, very few have been widely implemented or rigorously studied.

The investigators have developed the award-winning dementia education platform to complement traditional patient and family educational approaches. It allows free access to multimedia e-learning lessons, live expert webinars, and email-based content that care partners can access any time, anywhere.

In a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT), the investigators propose to study 1) the feasibility and care partner acceptance of the intervention and some of the study methods, and 2) the impact of the intervention on care partner self-efficacy, knowledge, and sense of burden.

This initiative has the potential to improve the quality, cost effectiveness, and efficiency of dementia care. The intervention could be easily scaled and spread both provincially and nationally to complement other dementia education methods, at a time when the prevalence of dementia is increasing and access to high quality internet-based interventions is essential.

Inclusion Criteria:

1. they are a family and/or friend care partner of a person living with dementia,
2. they reside in Canada,
3. they are 18 years of age and over,
4. they have a good command of the English language,
5. they have access to email and internet,
6. they are comfortable using email and internet,
7. they have the ability to grant online informed consent, and
8. they complete online baseline assessments.

Exclusion Criteria:

1. they are a not family and/or friend care partner of a person living with dementia,
2. they do not reside in Canada,
3. they are not 18 years of age and over,
4. they do not have a good command of the English language,
5. they do not have access to email and internet,
6. they are not comfortable using email and internet,
7. they do not have the ability to grant online informed consent, and
8. they do not complete online baseline assessments.