Family Focused Nursing for Elderly Medical Patients

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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The purpose of this study is to determine whether Family Focused Nursing are effective in the treatment of elderly medical patients with respect to prevalence of depression

Detailed Description
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Psychosocial issues such as lack of social support and symptoms of depression, are risk factors associated to readmission for elderly medical patients. Families with elderly members in general want to be involved in the caring and want to maintain a close relation to their elderly family member. However, disease in a single family can have a negative effect on all members and may result in dysfunction of the family. International guidelines recommend that the patient's relatives are involved in patient education as well as the treatment. Family interventions might contribute to decline depression and readmissions, besides enhanced quality of life and family function among elderly medical patients and their next of kin.

Official Title
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Family-Focused Nursing for Elderly Medical Patients and Their Family: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Conditions
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Depression

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Family Focused Nursing


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: acute hospitalized an expected hospitalization of minimum two days speak and understand Danish signed informed consent Exclusion Criteria: dementia (evaluated by the Mini Mental State Examination [MMSE] < 24) terminally ill patients whose survival rate is assessed to be less than a month

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 65 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: Supportive Care
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: Double


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| No Intervention: Treatment as usual<br>Pharmacological treatment, patient information and counselling according to international and national guidelines by health professionals specialized in elderly medical patients. | |
| Experimental: Family Focused Nursing<br>Family Focused Nursing and treatment as usual | Behavioral: Family Focused Nursing<br>* All patients receive treatment as usual. Additionally, patients in the intervention arm receives family focused nursing consultations which are structured as sessions focusing on change, improvement and/or maintenance of family function within cognitive, affective and behavioral knowledge. Each session is organized and individualized according to the wishes and needs for education and counseling of the families within a period of one months.<br>* Other names: Elderly;|

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in depressive symptoms assessed by 9 points measured on the Geriatric Depression Scale | The effect of intervention on primary outcome are investigated as longitudinal data at seven days and six month. The data are analysed using mixed models | Baseline, 7 days and 6 months after the intervention | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in family function score on Brief Family Assessment Measure III | The effect of intervention on secondary outcome are investigated as longitudinal | 7 days and 6 months | 
| Change in health related quality of life on Medical Outcomes Study Short Form, SF-8 | The effect of intervention on secondary outcome are investigated as longitudinal | 7 days and 6 months | 
| Change in time spent between hospitalization | The effect of intervention on secondary outcome are investigated as longitudinal | 7 days and 6 months | 

 Terms related to the study
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Keywords Provided by Centre Hospitalier Valida
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Depression, Family functioning, Family Focused Nursing, Quality of life