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.