TY  - JOUR
AU  - Douglas, Sara L
AU  - Plow, Matthew
AU  - Packer, Tanya
AU  - Lipson, Amy R
AU  - Lehman, Michelle J
PY  - 2021
DA  - 2021/8/26
TI  - Psychoeducational Interventions for Caregivers of Persons With Multiple Sclerosis: Protocol for a Randomized Trial
JO  - JMIR Res Protoc
SP  - e30617
VL  - 10
IS  - 8
KW  - multiple sclerosis
KW  - caregivers
KW  - distress
KW  - anxiety
KW  - depression
KW  - psycho-education
KW  - website
KW  - coaching
KW  - mobile phone
AB  - Background: Of the approximately 1 million people living with multiple sclerosis in the United States, more than half receive informal, unpaid care or support from family or friends (caregivers). These caregivers report high levels of stress, anxiety, and negative emotions. Few researchers have conducted psychoeducational interventions for these caregivers. Objective: This paper presents a protocol for a randomized clinical trial that aims to test the efficacy of two interventions for improving stress, anxiety, depression, and negative emotions for caregivers of persons with multiple sclerosis. Methods: Participants included any self-identified family or friend caregiver of a person with multiple sclerosis. Data collection began in April 2021 and is expected to continue until November 2021. Participants will be randomized to receive either a website-only or a website-coaching intervention delivered for 6 weeks. Data will be collected at baseline, 6 weeks after baseline (after delivery of intervention), and 6 weeks later. Results: The protocol was approved by the institutional review board of the Case Western Reserve University on January 21, 2021 (protocol 20201484). As of May 2021, 66 participants were enrolled. Conclusions: Our findings will have implications for identifying the efficacy of two types of interventions developed for caregivers of persons with multiple sclerosis to reduce negative psychological outcomes associated with caregiving. Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT04662008; http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT04662008 International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/30617 
SN  - 1929-0748
UR  - https://www.researchprotocols.org/2021/8/e30617
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2196/30617
UR  - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/34435971
DO  - 10.2196/30617
ID  - info:doi/10.2196/30617
ER  -