Personal Blog #20 … Research Study at Rice University, Texas … 1/16/21

 

I am passing along some information I recently received from Audrey Kuykendall, an Undergraduate Research Assistant  at Rice University in Texas.  She is seeking dementia spouse caregivers willing to participate in an online study.  Below are excerpts from the email I received:

 

“I am reaching out because our lab is running a fully remote study that examines The Impact of Emotions on Social Distancing among spousal caregivers for Alzheimer’s disease or related dementias during the COVID-19 Pandemic.  This study is funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has been approved by Rice University’s Institutional Review Board (IRB).”

 

“The purpose of this research study is to understand the factors (e.g., feeling unhappy, lonely, frustrated) that influence compliance with social distancing recommendations during the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, this study aims to understand how negative emotions (e.g., feeling unhappy, lonely, frustrated) along with social distancing requirements influence caregivers’ confidence in their ability to provide high-quality care for their spouse with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic.” 

 

“We are looking for participants who 1) are the principal person taking care of the spouse with a physician-based diagnosis of dementia/Alzheimer’s Disease, 2) devote at least 4 hours daily to the care of the spouse for at least the last 3 months, 3) are married or self-defined as long term committed partners for at least 3 years, 4) have a personal smartphone with a cellular data plan for the mobile portion of the study and internet access to complete the surveys, 5) have access to a personal computer or laptop with internet access to complete the surveys, and 6) are fluent in English. Participants should not have acute or uncontrolled medical illness (e.g., major surgery, autoimmune disorders).”

“If you are interested, follow this link to complete the online eligibility survey https://riceuniversity.co1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_9ogHDVfJqn1oEAJ. The principal investigator of this study is Dr. Christopher Fagundes in the BMED Lab at Rice University.”

You can call the Rice University research lab for more information at 832-819-4297 or go to bmed.rice.edu/current-projects/project-care/.