Treating Sleep Problems in VA Adult Day Health Care

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Millennium Act) of 1999 mandated the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide non-institutional long-term care to veterans. Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) is a key component of that spectrum of long-term care services. Veterans in ADHC commonly suffer from limited poor functioning, depression, cognitive problems and low quality of life. These factors can lead to continued deterioration in functioning, loss of independence, hospitalizations, nursing home placement and death. Sleep disruption is associated with depression, low quality of life, functional decline, nursing home placement, and death among older people. Sleep disturbance is common among ADHC patients, it is not addressed within routine clinical care, and treatment may be limited to medications. Studies show that untreated insomnia and medications for insomnia can increase risk of falls and other health events among older persons. On the other hand, non-medication treatments for sleep do not show these problems. These treatments have been shown to be effective in other studies. The goal of this study is to test non-medication treatments to improve sleep among older Veterans with insomnia in a VA ADHC program. The study design will facilitate translation into routine care and application in other similar VA programs.

Detailed Description
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The Veterans Millennium Health Care and Benefits Act (Millennium Act) of 1999 mandated the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide non-institutional long-term care to veterans. Adult Day Health Care (ADHC) is a key component of that spectrum of long-term care services. ADHC provides health maintenance, rehabilitation services and socialization in a group setting during daytime hours. Veterans in ADHC commonly suffer from limited physical functioning, depression, cognitive difficulties and low quality of life. These factors increase the likelihood of continued deterioration in functioning, loss of independence, hospitalizations, nursing home placement and death. Previous studies, including our own work, have demonstrated that sleep disruption is associated with depression, low quality of life, functional decline, nursing home placement, and death among older people. The investigators have found that sleep disturbance is common among ADHC patients, it is not addressed within routine clinical care, and treatment is commonly limited to medications (e.g., hypnotics, sedating antidepressants). Numerous studies show that both untreated insomnia and pharmacological treatment of insomnia can be associated with increased risk of falls and other adverse health events among older persons. On the other hand, nonpharmacological interventions on sleep do not show these adverse effects, have been shown to be effective and are associated with improvements in mood, quality of life and health. The goal of the study was to test the effectiveness of a cognitive-behavioral intervention to improve self-reported and objectively-measured sleep quality among older veterans with insomnia in a VA ADHC program. The intervention program involved a 4-session manualized treatment. This Sleep Intervention Program (SIP) was compared to an active Sleep Education control that also included 4 individual sessions using a randomized trial with 72 veterans. To our knowledge, this study is the first to address the unmet need for non-pharmacological treatment of sleep problems among ADHC patients. The intervention design (e.g., use of a manualized treatment that can be provided by non-psychologists) will facilitate translation into routine care and application in other similar VA programs.

Official Title
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Treating Sleep Problems in VA Adult Day Health Care

Conditions
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Insomnia, Sleep Disorders

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Sleep Intervention Program
* Behavioral: Sleep Education control


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: All of the following: ADHC program participant Age >= 60 years Ability to communicate verbally Exclusion Criteria: One or more of the following: Significant cognitive impairment (Mini Mental State Examination score<20)

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 60 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Treatment
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: SIP group<br>The Sleep Intervention Program group received a sleep education program based on behavioral principles, delivered in 4 individual sessions carried out within the Adult Day Health Care program. | Behavioral: Sleep Intervention Program<br>* Sessions focused on: 1) sleep consolidation and sleep schedule optimization, 2) sleep hygiene education, 3) cognitive therapy, and 4) maintenance of sleep improvements and coping with future bouts of insomnia.<br>|
| Active Comparator: Control group<br>The Control group received basic sleep education, delivered in 4 individual sessions carried out within the Adult Day Health Care | Behavioral: Sleep Education control<br>* During sessions, participants reviewed two educational brochures that focused on changes in sleep with age and sleep hygiene education.<br>|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Sleep Efficiency | Percentage of time asleep while in bed estimated by actigraphy | End of 4-week intervention | 
| Sleep Efficiency | Percentage of time asleep while in bed estimated by actigraphy. | 4-month follow-up | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Sleep, Rehabilitation, Behavior therapy, Insomnia