Recruiting

Structured Retrieval Practice

Sponsor:

Virginia Wesleyan University

Code:

NCT07413406

Conditions

Dementia

Alzheimer Disease

Caregiver Stress

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 50+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Interventions

Structured Retrieval Practice

Reading-Based Education

Study Details

Brief summary:

Caring for a person living with dementia can be stressful, and many family caregivers report limited access to effective educational resources for managing dementia-related behaviors and caregiver stress. This study will evaluate a learning-based educational intervention called structured retrieval practice (SRP), which is designed to improve long-term learning by encouraging repeated recall of information with feedback. Informal dementia caregivers will be randomly assigned to learn caregiving and self-care strategies using either SRP or a traditional reading-based educational approach. Participants will be assessed on their knowledge, confidence in caregiving skills, stress levels, and perceptions of dementia-related behavioral symptoms over multiple follow-up periods. The study will also examine whether the SRP intervention is feasible and acceptable for caregivers in real-world settings.

Conditions

Dementia

Alzheimer Disease

Caregiver Stress

Study ID

NCT07413406

Start date

Oct 3, 2025

Status verified date

Feb, 2026

Completion date

Jun 30, 2026

Anticipated

Primary completion date

Jun 30, 2026

Anticipated

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

Sex: All

Age: 50+

Healthy Volunteers: Not accepted

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Adults aged 50 years or older
  • Informal (unpaid) caregiver for a family member or friend living with dementia
  • Providing ongoing assistance or support to the individual with dementia
  • Reports moderate to high perceived stress, defined as a score of 14 or higher on the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10)
  • Able to speak and read English
  • Able to complete study procedures either in person or remotely
  • Has access to a computer, tablet, or smartphone with internet access
  • Willing and able to provide informed consent

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Paid or professional caregivers (e.g., home health aides)
  • Caregivers younger than 50 years of age
  • Caregivers reporting low perceived stress (PSS-10 score below 14)
  • Caregivers providing assistance to an individual without evidence of cognitive - impairment, as determined by a dementia screening interview (AD8 score < 2)
  • Inability to complete study procedures due to cognitive, sensory, or technological limitations
  • Failure to meet study screening requirements or provide informed consent

Study Design

Enrollment

65 participants

Anticipated

Allocation

Randomized

Intervention Model

Parallel Assignment

Primary purpose

Other

Interventions and Outcome Measures

Arms

experimental: Structured Retrieval Practice (SRP)

Participants assigned to this arm will receive caregiver education delivered using structured retrieval practice (SRP). Educational content will be presented through repeated opportunities to actively recall information over time with corrective feedback. Content will focus on managing behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia, coping strategies, and caregiver self-care.

active comparator: Reading-Based Education Control

Participants assigned to this arm will receive caregiver education delivered through traditional reading-based materials. Educational content will cover the same topics as the structured retrieval practice arm, including management of dementia-related behavioral symptoms, coping strategies, and caregiver self-care, but without retrieval practice or corrective feedback.

Interventions

Structured Retrieval Practice

The structured retrieval practice intervention is an educational learning approach designed to support durable knowledge retention through repeated active recall of information with corrective feedback. Caregivers will engage in retrieval-based learning activities focused on dementia symptom management, coping strategies, and self-care. Learning activities will be spaced over time, and participants will receive immediate feedback to support learning and retention.

Reading-Based Education

The reading-based education control condition consists of caregiver educational materials presented in a traditional reading format. Participants will review written information covering dementia-related behavioral symptoms, coping strategies, and caregiver self-care. Materials will be matched in content to the structured retrieval practice condition but will not include active retrieval or feedback components.

Primary outcome measure

  • Caregiver Knowledge Retention [ Time Frame: Baseline; 2 days post-intervention; 2 weeks post-intervention; 2 months post-intervention ]
  • Caregiver Self-Efficacy [ Time Frame: Baseline; 2 days post-intervention; 2 weeks post-intervention; 2 months post-intervention ]
  • Caregiver Perceived Stress [ Time Frame: Baseline; 2 days post-intervention; 2 weeks post-intervention; 2 months post-intervention ]

Central Contacts and Locations

Central contacts

Robert Ariel, PhD

757-455-3368confidentcarestudy@gmail.com

Uma Tauber, Ph.D

memorylab@tcu.edu

Locations

Virginia Wesleyan University

Recruiting

Virginia Beach, Virginia, United States, 23455

Contacts

Robert Ariel, PhD

757-455-3368confidentcarestudy@gmail.com

Robert Ariel, PhD.

psychology@vwu.edu

More Information

Sponsor

Virginia Wesleyan University

Last update posted

Feb 17, 2026

Last verified

Feb, 2026

Keywords

  • Dementia caregivers
  • Informal caregivers
  • Family caregiving
  • Structured retrieval practice
  • Retrieval Practice
  • Testing Effect
  • Caregiver Education
  • Caregiver Stress
  • Behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia
  • Caregiver self-efficacy

Trial information was received from ClinicalTrials.gov and was last updated on 2026-09-09. This information was provided to ClinicalTrials.gov by Virginia Wesleyan University on 2026-02-17.