An interventional study of Tailored nutritional counselling intervention in Mental Well-being, Muscle Strengh and Dietary Habits, sponsored by Susanna Kunvik. Not yet recruiting at 1 site in Finland. Open to participants aged 65 Years and older, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-06-08.
Sponsored by Susanna Kunvik · Not applicable, Interventional, and Supportive care
The goal of this single-arm pre-post study is to promote elderly (≥ 65 years) family caregivers' dietary habits, well-being and functional capacity through comprehensive nutritional guidance. The main goals of the project are to:
The project participants will participate in two individual nutrition counselling sessions and three group nutrition counseling sessions over a period of ten months.
Researchers will compare the results of the participants' baseline and final measurements to see if nutrition counseling is effective in improving family caregivers' well-being, resilience, and functional capacity.
Background: A large proportion of Finnish family caregivers are older adults. Serving as a family caregiver places both psychological and physical strain on the caregiver. As a result, taking care of one's own well-being may be overlooked. Previous studies have shown that up to 40% of family caregivers may be at risk of malnutrition. Inadequate nutrition weakens family caregivers' health and functional capacity, potentially threatening their ability to continue providing care. At present, there is no structured and clearly defined approach to systematically addressing the nutritional status and nutritional needs of family caregivers as part of family caregivers services. Consequently, family caregivers may not receive easily accessible, targeted, and reliable nutritional guidance or materials, even though nutrition is an important factor in maintaining health, functional capacity and the ability to continue caregiving.
Aims: The aim of the Strength for Caregiving project is to promote elderly (≥ 65 years) family caregivers' dietary habits, well-being, and functional capacity through comprehensive nutritional counseling. In addition, the project aims to develop and pilot a nutritional counseling model targeted at family caregivers. The project will also produce nutrition materials for family caregivers.
Methods: The study examines the effectiveness of a 10-month tailored nutritional counseling intervention on well-being, functional capacity, nutritional status and dietary habits among elderly caregivers living in the Satakunta region, Finland. The planned sample size is 100 participants.
The 10-month intervention includes two individual counseling sessions and three group counseling sessions. The individual sessions are conducted by a nutritionist and include a personal nutrition plan. Based on the participants' preferences, the group sessions consist of either nutrition lectures or practical cooking courses.
Study outcomes are assessed at baseline and after 10 months. Outcomes are measured using questionnaires and three-day food records. Nutritional status, weight, blood pressure and muscle strength are measured at the same time points during appointments with research nurse.
Expected outcomes: The project is expected to improve family caregivers' dietary habits, well-being, and functional capacity. The nutrition coaching model will include individual and group counseling, practical cooking courses, and materials for implementing these activities, enabling different organizations and professionals to use the model and continue providing counseling after the project has ended. The materials produced will be publicly available and widely usable after the project.
Discussion: The study will support family caregivers' ability to continue their caregiving role and help reduce nutrition-related health risks. Integrating the nutrition counseling model into family caregiver services in the well-being services county will lay the foundation for long-term change. Openly available materials may help ensure that the project's impact continues beyond the project period.
985 studies on the registry are indexed under Feeding Behavior; 178 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 100 is above the median of 77 across 700 interventional studies indexed under Feeding Behavior.
Browse Feeding Behavior studies →This is the only study on the registry with Susanna Kunvik as lead sponsor.
Compared within Feeding Behavior, this study's primary condition as ClinicalTrials.gg classifies it; the registry's first condition term is Psychological Well-Being. The counts are of registry records indexed under each term, refreshed daily. How we classify →
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Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.
MMSE and MoCA
Short tests of memory and thinking, each scored out of 30. Lower scores suggest more difficulty; criteria give a range, either to include people with memory problems or to leave them out.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
This is a single-arm pre-post study. Participants in this arm are elderly family caregivers living in the Satakunta region. All participants receive a 10-month tailored nutritional counselling intervention aimed at improving well-being, functional capacity, and dietary habits. The intervention includes two individual dietary counselling sessions conducted by a nutrition specialist and three group counselling sessions. Based on participants' preferences, the group sessions consist of either group-based nutrition lectures or practical cooking courses. The individual counselling includes a personal nutrition plan.
Behavioral: Tailored nutritional counselling intervention
The intervention is a 10-month tailored nutritional counselling programme for elderly family caregivers. It includes two individual dietary counselling sessions conducted by a nutrition specialist and three group counselling sessions. The individual counselling sessions include a personal nutrition plan based on the participant's needs. According to participants' preferences, the group counselling sessions consist of either nutrition lectures or practical cooking courses. The intervention aims to improve participants' well-being, functional capacity, and dietary habits.
Mental well-being measured with the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5)
Psychological well-being of participating informal caregivers will be assessed using the WHO-5 Well-Being Index. The WHO-5 consists of five positively worded items measuring mood, vitality, positive affect, and general psychological well-being during the previous two weeks. Each item is scored on a 6-point Likert scale from 0 to 5, giving a total raw score range of 0-25. The raw score may be multiplied by 4 to obtain a transformed score from 0 to 100, where higher scores indicate better psychological well-being.
Time frame: Baseline and 10 months
Psychological burden measured with the Zarit Burden Interview, 4-item version (ZBI-4)
Psychological burden of participating caregivers will be assessed using the 4-item version of the Zarit Burden Interview. Each item is scored on a 5-point Likert scale from 0 to 4. The total score ranges from 0 to 16, with higher scores indicating greater psychological burden. A score of 8 or higher indicates high caregiver burden.
Time frame: Baseline and 10 months
Physical functioning measured with the five-times sit-to-stand test and hand grip strength measured with a grip dynamometer
Physical functioning and lower-limb muscle strength will be assessed using the five-times sit-to-stand test. Participants rise from a chair and sit down five times as quickly as possible, with arms crossed over the chest. The outcome is the time needed to complete the test, measured in seconds. A longer completion time indicates poorer lower-limb muscle strength and physical functioning. Muscle strength will also be assessed using hand grip strength measured with a grip dynamometer. The outcome is grip strength, with higher values indicating better muscle strength.
Time frame: Baseline and 10 months
Protein intake measured with a 3-day food diary
Protein intake will be assessed using a 3-day food diary including two weekdays and one weekend day. The outcomes include total daily protein intake and protein intake relative to body weight. Protein intake will be reported as grams per day and grams per kilogram of body weight per day.
Time frame: Baseline and 10 months.
Nutritional status measured with the Mini Nutritional Assessment, long form (MNA)
Nutritional status will be assessed using the long form of the Mini Nutritional Assessment. The MNA includes anthropometric measurements, dietary assessment, general health and functioning, and self-perceived health and nutritional status. The maximum score of the long version of the MNA is 30 points. A score of 24-30 points indicates normal nutritional status, 17-23.5 points indicates an increased risk of malnutrition, and a score below 17 points indicates malnutrition.
Time frame: Baseline and 10 months
Quality of life measured with the 15D instrument
Quality of life will be assessed using the 15D instrument which is a self-assessment-based quality of life measure developed, validated, and widely used in Finland. The 15D includes 15 dimensions of health and functioning, each scored on five levels. The responses are combined into a single 15D index score ranging from 0 to 1, where 0 represents death and 1 represents full health. Higher scores indicate better health-related quality of life.
Time frame: Baseline and 10 months
Plan to share: Undecided — It has not yet been determined whether individual participant data will be shared. The decision will depend on participant consent, ethics approval, data protection requirements, and institutional policies.
Start is estimated for Sep 2026; primary completion for Nov 2027, 14 months later.
Of 503 non-industry interventional studies with no phase under Feeding Behavior, half reached primary completion within 14 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 31. This study's planned 14 months is close to that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 515 studies reached it within 14 months; a quarter within 5 and three quarters within 31.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
This study is not yet recruiting, as verified in Jun 2026. You cannot join it, but the record below documents what was studied.
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