An interventional study of Palliative Care Training in Alzheimer Disease, End of Life and Caregiver Burden, sponsored by University of South Florida. Recruiting at 2 sites in United States. Open to participants aged 21 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-04-29.
Sponsored by University of South Florida · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
The palliative care education in assisted living for dementia care providers (PCEAL-DCP) is a 4-week intervention (once a week for 1.5 hours, a total of 6 hours) for licensed nurses, administrators and dementia care coordinators to improve quality of dementia care outcomes
This is a five-year cluster randomized trial (CRT) among 30 assisted living (AL) communities (k=30) and residents (N=450), staff (N=72) and family members (N=270) with a baseline, 3, and 6 months post-intervention follow-ups for residents, a baseline and 6-month follow-up for family and a pre- and post-test (one month), 3- and 6-month follow-up for staff and baseline AL facility information from administrators to examine dementia care outcomes.
3,965 studies on the registry are indexed under Alzheimer Disease; 926 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 792 is above the median of 70 across 3,019 interventional studies indexed under Alzheimer Disease.
Browse Alzheimer Disease studies →University of South Florida is the lead sponsor of 340 studies on the registry; 65 are open to participants now.
Of its 17 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 4 (24%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
The AL community eligibility criteria include a minimum of 40+ beds and provide memory care services to at least 35% of their residents, and access to hospice services from Lifepath or Suncoast Hospice. The AL size of 40+ beds is selected so we will be able to recruit a minimum of 14 residents per site, based on the power analysis for the sample size of 450 for the primary study outcome of documentation of ACP discussions.
Residents are eligible if 1) they have a dementia diagnosis confirmed by the resident's physician (physician's signature required by University of South Florida (USF) Institutional Reiew Board (IRB) in prior clinical trial) regardless of dementia severity (mild, moderate, or severe), 2) if they have been admitted to the AL in the last month, and 3) if they have a legally responsible representative who understands English.
Staff are eligible if they are currently employed with the participating study AL as a registered/licensed practical nurse, administrator, or dementia care coordinator of a memory care unit and English speaking and 21 years of age or older.
Family members are eligible if 1) they are listed as the legally responsible party in the chart records for the resident with ADRD, 2) they understand English, and 3) are at least 21 years of age or older. This could include someone related to the person, a close friend or a legal guardian who oversees the person's care and is responsible for decisions about their care.
Exclusion Criteria:
AL sites will be ineligible if 1) the are not a licensed Florida assisted living facility; 2) they have previously participated in a PCEAL-DCP clinical trial (2018-2021) to avoid possible experimental contamination effects, and 3) if no staff employed at the AL are willing to participate in the study.
Residents are ineligible if they: 1) are currently receiving hospice services because residents who receive hospice are already engaged in ACP discussions upon admission; 2) if they are discharged from assisted living to another setting (nursing home or hospital) or are admitted to hospice or have died before baseline data is collected.
Staff will be ineligible if they are not licensed nurses, administrators or dementia care coordinators of a dementia care unit or terminated/resign before baseline data is collected.
Family are ineligible if: 1) they are under 21 years of age and do not understand spoken or written English and if there is already a legal authorized representative for a resident participating in the study (one family member per resident).
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Hospice nurses or social workers selected from LifePath and Suncoast Hospice organizations will train the AL interventionists on the PCEAL-DCP intervention. All hospice nurses and social workers who are facilitators will be licensed practical nurses, registered nurses or master's in social work. Prior to the intervention, the hospice facilitators will complete a four-hour workshop about the topics to cover and be trained on the protocol to follow for facilitation of the four-week PCEAL sessions so each cluster in the treatment group is trained in the same manner.
Behavioral: Palliative Care Training
Wait-listed group will receive the PCEAL-DCP curriculum after completion of the study.
Teaching about caring for individuals with
Documentation of Advance Care Planning (ACP) Discussions
Resident Chart: Percent of residents in sample with documentation in chart of any discussion of ACP with residents or family, last 90 days. Resident Chart: Percent of residents in sample with living will, health care surrogate, durable power of attorney and do not resuscitate (DNR)s in chart. (yes/no).
Time frame: Baseline, 3, and 6 months
Hospice Use
Hospice use (Secondary Outcome) Resident Chart: Percent of residents in sample admitted to hospice: Calculated based on # of residents admitted to hospice in last three months. Resident Resident Resident Hospice use (Secondary Outcome) Resident Chart: Percent of residents in sample admitted to hospice: Calculated based on # of residents admitted to hospice in last three months. Resident Resident Resident Percent of residents in sample admitted to hospice: Calculated based on # of residents admitted to hospice in last three months.
Time frame: Baseline, 3, and 6 months
Palliative Care Staff Knowledge
Thompson Palliative Care Knowledge 3-items, range 1-3. (alpha = 0.81) \[65\]
Time frame: Baseline, 3, and 6 months
Staff Self-Efficacy
Lazenby Self-efficacy with patient- and Family-Centered Communication 12-items, range 12-60 (alpha = .91) \[28\]
Time frame: Baseline, 3, and 6 months
Staff commitment
Montgomery 9-items, range 9-45, (alpha =.90) \[49, 54\]
Time frame: Baseline, 3, and 6 months
Staff satisfaction with org. support.
Montgomery 10-items, range 10-50; (alpha = .88) \[49, 54\]
Time frame: Baseline, 3, and 6 months
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