BEFRIENding for Depression, Anxiety and Social support in older adults living in Australian residential aged care facilities (BEFRIENDAS): randomised controlled trial protocol

BMC Geriatrics

Emily You¹  Marcia Fearn²  Robin Harper²  Georgia Major²  Colleen Doyle³  Briony Dow⁴  Julie Ratcliffe⁵  Sunil Bhar⁶  Daniel O’Connor⁷  George Mnatzaganian⁸  Anne-Marie Bagnall⁹  Christina Bryant^1,10  David Dunt^1,11 

[1] Academic Unit for Psychiatry of Old Age, The University of Melbourne, Poplar Road, 3052, Parkville, Australia;Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Poplar Road, 3052, Parkville, Australia;Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Poplar Road, 3052, Parkville, Australia;Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University, John Street, 3122, Hawthorn, Australia;School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University, Burwood Highway, 3125, Burwood, Australia;Aged Care Division, National Ageing Research Institute, Poplar Road, 3052, Parkville, Australia;School of Nursing and Midwifery, Deakin University, Burwood Highway, 3125, Burwood, Australia;School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, 3010, Parkville, Australia;Caring Futures Institute, Flinders University, Sturt Road, 5042, Bedford Park, Australia;Department of Psychological Sciences, Swinburne University, John Street, 3122, Hawthorn, Australia;Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University, 3800, Clayton, Australia;La Trobe Rural Health School, La Trobe University, 3552, Bendigo, Australia;Leeds-Beckett University, LS1 3HE, Leeds, United Kingdom;Melbourne School of Psychological Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, 3010, Parkville, Australia;School of Population and Global Health, The University of Melbourne, Grattan Street, 3010, Parkville, Australia;

关键词: Depression;    Anxiety;    Loneliness;    Befriending;    Volunteers;   

DOI  :  10.1186/s12877-021-02233-7

来源: Springer

【 摘 要 】

BackgroundThis protocol describes an ongoing study of the impact of befriending on depression, anxiety and loneliness in older people living in residential aged care facilities in Australia. While systematic reviews of befriending have indicated positive benefits of befriending for people in a range of ages and settings, there have been no randomised controlled trials (RCTs) of befriending for older people living in residential aged care with depression and no studies of the cost effectiveness of befriending in residential aged care facilities (RACFs) in Australia.Methods and analysisWe are conducting a single blind pragmatic RCT comparing two groups of older people living in RACFs, one receiving an intervention consisting of weekly befriending for 4 months from a trained volunteer and the other receiving treatment as usual. Participants undergo eligibility screening for depression (GDS-15 ≥ 4) and cognitive impairment (GPCog ≥ 4) and assessments at three measurement time points: baseline prior to randomisation, 2 months post-baseline and 4 months post-baseline. The primary outcome measure is depression, and secondary outcome measures are anxiety, loneliness, social isolation and quality of life. The economic evaluation will take the form of a cost-utility analysis based on the outcome of quality of life. The primary and secondary outcomes will be analysed using negative binomial and logistic regressions utilizing the Generalised Estimating Equations approach.DiscussionTo our knowledge, this is the first RCT evaluating the effectiveness of befriending on older people with depression living in residential aged care. It is expected that the befriending intervention will reduce the severity of depression symptoms experienced by older people living in residential aged care. If the intervention proves effective it may be incorporated into volunteer training programs and adopted as a way of supporting older people’s mental health.Trial registrationTrial registered with the Australian and New Zealand Clinical Trial Registry (ANZCTR) Number: ACTRN12619000676112, registered 06/05/2019 – retrospectively registered.

【 授权许可】

CC BY