Recruiting

Volunteering & Current Events

Sponsor:

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Code:

NCT06735950

Conditions

Apathy in Dementia

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 55+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Volunteering in Place Program

Recreational activity

Study Details

Brief summary:

This is a research study to test two different interventions to decrease apathy in assisted living residents with some memory issues. Apathy makes older adults not feel like doing much activity. This study is completely voluntary and will not affect the care you receive at your assisted living community.

The two possible interventions are 1) participation in a volunteering opportunity within the assisted living community OR 2) participation in a guided current events group within the assisted living community. These activities would be in addition to any other regular activities you participate in within the assisted living community. Both activities would take place three days per week for approximately 30 minutes. You would be randomly assigned (like a coin flip) to which intervention you would do. You do not get to choose. You would participate in the activity for a total of 6 months.

In addition to participating in the intervention (either volunteering or current events), you will be asked to answer some questions about your memory, level of activity, mood, confidence in your ability to do a volunteer job, and feelings of usefulness. You will answer these questions at baseline (before the activity begins, at 3 months after doing the intervention activity, and aging at 6 months after starting the interventions activity. You will also be asked to wear a MotionWatch for 5 days at each time point (baseline, 3months and 6 months). A motion watch measures your level of activity. It feels like wearing a regular watch. You will be in the study for 6 months total.

Risks to participating in this study are minimal and include privacy (other people may find out you are in the study), confidentiality of the data collected if someone other than study staff accesses your records, fatigue with answering the questionnaires, and some mild discomfort with wearing the MotionWatch. This is also a minor risk that you could fall or otherwise harm yourself getting to or participating in your intervention activity.

The benefit of participating in this study include possible enjoyment of participating in the intervention activity.

Conditions

Apathy in Dementia

Study ID

NCT06735950

Start date

Oct 1, 2026

Status verified date

Oct, 2026

Completion date

Aug 31, 2027

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Aug 31, 2027

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 55+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • age 55 years or older;
  • English speaking;
  • live in the included AL community
  • have mild to moderate cognitive impairment based on a SLUMS score of 26 or below and the ability to follow a one-step command.
  • have apathy based on a "yes" answer to at least 2 questions on the apathy subscale of the Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) completed by a family or staff member who has had close contact with the resident in the past month;
  • have an anticipated length of stay of 12 months.

Exclusion Criteria:

\- refusal to assent

Study Design

Enrollment

200 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Supportive Care

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Volunteering-in-Place Program

Participants in this arm will engage in a volunteer activity in the assisted living facility chosen based on their interests and capabilities.

active comparator: Recreational Activity

Participants in this arm will engage in a current events group

Interventions

Volunteering in Place Program

Implementation of the VIP Program consists of 4 steps guided by the Social Ecological Model (SEM) with Interpersonal interventions guided by Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), and will be implemented over a 6-month period by research supported Volunteer Coordinators. The four steps of the VIP Program are: Step 1: Stakeholder Team, Staff and Family Education; Step 2: Assessment of AL Environment and Residents Abilities and Interests; Step 3: Ongoing Implementation of the Volunteer Plan; and Step 4: Reassessment of the Volunteer Activity. Participants will volunteer three time per week for approximately 30 minutes.

Recreational activity

The Recreational Activities group intervention will consist of similar staff education regarding the benefits of engaging residents in meaningful activities as described in Step 1 above, without other steps associated with the VIP Program. The Recreational Activities group will be exposed to a research team RA coordinator who will provide a current events activity (reviewing the daily newspaper) for the participants in the RA group three times per week for approximately 30 minutes as an attention control.

Primary outcome measure

  • Apathy Evaluation Scale [ Time Frame: Baseline, 3 months, 6 months ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Jennifer Klinedinst, PhD, MPH, RN

410-706-3181klinedinst@umaryland.edu

Locations

Charlestown Senior Living

Recruiting

Catonsville, Maryland, United States, 21228

Contacts

Maksim Mendelzon

410-737-8875Maksim.Mendelzon@erickson.com

Charles E Smith Life Communities

Recruiting

Rockville, Maryland, United States, 20852

Contacts

Elisa Gil-Pires, MD, FACP, CMD, CPE

301-770-8473gil-pires@ceslc.org

Kathleen Triggs

301-816-5056triggs@ceslc.org

More Information

Sponsor

University of Maryland, Baltimore

Last update posted

Oct 5, 2026

Last verified

Oct, 2026

Keywords

  • apathy
  • assisted living
  • dementia
  • volunteering

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-10-06. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of Maryland, Baltimore on 2026-10-05. Recruitment status is synced daily from ClinicalTrials.gov and may not reflect the sponsor's current status. Confirm during your call.