Cited by 15Dementia and Cognitive Impairment ResearchGeriatric Care and Nursing HomesNursing care and research

Testing an Intervention to Improve Posthospital Outcomes in Persons Living With Dementia and Their Family Care Partners

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Boltz, Marie, Mogle, Jacqueline, Kuzmik, Ashley, BeLue, Rhonda, Leslie, Douglas, Galvin, James E, Resnick, Barbara·2023·Innovation in Aging

Abstract

Background and Objectives: Hospitalized persons living with dementia are at risk for functional decline, behavioral symptoms of distress, and delirium, all persisting in the postacute period. In turn, family care partners (FCPs) experience increased anxiety and lack of preparedness for caregiving, compounding existing strain and burden. Family-centered Function-focused Care (Fam-FFC) purposefully engages FCPs in assessment, decision-making, care delivery, and evaluation of function-focused care during and after hospitalization (within 48 hours of discharge, weekly telephone calls for a total of 7 additional weeks, then monthly for 4 months). The objective of this study was to test the efficacy of Fam-FFC. Research Design and Methods: A cluster randomized controlled trial included 455 dyads of persons living with dementia and FCPs in 6 medical units in 3 hospitals. Patient outcomes included return to baseline physical function, behavioral symptoms of distress, depressive symptoms, and delirium severity. Family care partner measures included preparedness for caregiving, anxiety, strain, and burden. Results: Multilevel level modeling demonstrated that the likelihood of returning to baseline function across time for Fam-FFC participants was twice that of the control group by the end of 6 months (OR = 2.4, p = .01, 95% CI 1.2–4.7). Family-centered Function-focused Care was also associated with fewer symptoms of distress (b = −1.1, SE = 0.56, p = .05) but no differences in the amount of moderate physical activity, depressive symptoms, and delirium severity. Preparedness for caregiving increased significantly only from 2 to 6 months (b = 0.89, SE = 0.45, d = 0.21, overall p = .02) in the intervention group, with no group differences in anxiety, strain, and burden. Discussion and Implications: Family-centered Function-focused Care may help prevent some of the postacute functional decline and behavioral symptoms in hospitalized persons living with dementia. Further research is needed to promote sustained improvements in these symptoms with more attention to the postacute needs of the care partner.

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Crossref · 10.1093/geroni/igad083

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  • HCPs supported carers to advocate for patients by guiding them to ask relevant questions or providing medication information.

    “We found evidence of HCPs supporting carers to advocate for patients by guiding them to ask relevant questions or providing medication information [52, 54].”

    From Do hospital-to-home transitions work for older adults with multiple long-term conditions including dementia? A realist review (2025) · cites this paper as [52]

    The Results section (“Description of Interventionist Activity”; page not available) says nurses coached family care partners to advocate for patients, including helping them ‘find the words’ to request mobility support. It also says some carers wanted greater involvement in medication decisions, but does not say clinicians guided them to ask questions or provided medication information. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • This enabled information sharing between carers and HCPs, and improved understanding of patient needs, subsequently impacting their ability to tailor discharge planning (CMOC4).

    “This enabled information sharing between carers and HCPs, and improved understanding of patient needs, subsequently impacting their ability to tailor discharge planning (CMOC4) [43, 46, 52, 54, 75, 76].”

    From Do hospital-to-home transitions work for older adults with multiple long-term conditions including dementia? A realist review (2025) · cites this paper as [52]

    The Intervention section describes a joint family care partner–nurse assessment, care plans based on patient and family preferences, discharge teaching, and communication with postacute providers. These support information sharing and tailoring care, but the paper does not establish that sharing improved clinicians’ understanding of patient needs or their ability to tailor discharge planning. No page number is available in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.83)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Interventions to support carers were limited.

    “Interventions to support carers were limited, though online self-care education showed potential to improve mental health, wellbeing, and self-efficacy, helping carers feel more confident in their roles, and supported higher engagement in patient-focused interventions (CMOC30) [28, 44, 52, 63, 68, 100, 101].”

    From Do hospital-to-home transitions work for older adults with multiple long-term conditions including dementia? A realist review (2025) · cites this paper as [52]

    The Discussion says this intervention focused on the person with dementia and did not improve care partners’ anxiety, strain, or burden; it calls for strategies supporting care partners’ well-being. That supports a limitation of this intervention, but the paper does not establish that interventions to support carers were generally limited. (LLM, conf=0.82)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Online self-care education showed potential to improve mental health, wellbeing, and self-efficacy, helping carers feel more confident in their roles, and supported higher engagement in patient-focused interventions.

    “Interventions to support carers were limited, though online self-care education showed potential to improve mental health, wellbeing, and self-efficacy, helping carers feel more confident in their roles, and supported higher engagement in patient-focused interventions (CMOC30) [28, 44, 52, 63, 68, 100, 101].”

    From Do hospital-to-home transitions work for older adults with multiple long-term conditions including dementia? A realist review (2025) · cites this paper as [52]

    The Results (page not provided) report improved caregiver preparedness, which supports the claim that carers may feel more confident in their roles. But the Discussion says this intervention required face-to-face nurse contact and that a web-based program was only being considered for the future. It also reports no treatment effect on caregiver anxiety, strain, or burden, so this paper does not establish mental-health or wellbeing benefits from online self-care education. (LLM, conf=0.87)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured
  • Transitional care interventions focused on including carers before discharge to support their engagement with care at home.

    “Similarly, transitional care interventions focused on including carers before discharge to support their engagement with care at home [44, 52, 68].”

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2 of the 55 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. [37]Archbold PG, Stewart BJ, Greenlick MR, Harvath TA. The clinical assessment of mutuality and preparedness in family caregivers to frail older people. In: Key Aspects of Eldercare. New York: Springer; 1992. p. 328– 339.

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Authors
Boltz, M., Mogle, J., Kuzmik, A., BeLue, R., Leslie, D., Galvin, J. E., & Resnick, B.
Affiliations
  • Pennsylvania State University (US)
  • Clemson University (US)
  • The University of Texas at San Antonio (US)
  • University of Miami (US)
  • University of Maryland, Baltimore (US)
Corresponding author
Boltz, Marie
Venue
Innovation in Aging
Published
2023-08-16
Volume
7
Issue
7
Pages
igad083-igad083
ISSN
2399-5300 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4385855102
Cited by
15
References
55
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 4
FWCI
3.04
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Innovation in Aging (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders
National Institutes of Aging
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Dementia and Cognitive Impairment Research
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Geriatric Care and Nursing Homes
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Pharmacy › Nursing care and research
Keywords
dementia, family-centered care, post-hospital care, functional decline, delirium, depressive symptoms, caregiver burden, caregiver preparedness, telephone follow-up, hospitalized older adults, intervention efficacy

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