# Web-based Self-management Tool Targeting Patients and their Informal Caregivers

> **NIH VA I21** · VETERANS ADMIN PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYS · 2021 · —

## Abstract

Self-care is critical to enhancing outcomes among chronically ill Veterans since without optimal
self-care, these Veterans face poor quality of life, exacerbations, and imminent death. Existing
tools designed to enhance self-care are limited because they often require in person contact, and
they do not address the needs of informal caregivers who may be involved in Veteran care. The
long-term goal is to improve morbidity, mortality, and patient-reported health outcomes among
chronically ill Veterans by improving adherence to self-care recommendations. The objective in this
study is to develop and pilot test a web-based self-care program that targets the barriers to self-
care as experienced by chronically ill Veterans and their caregivers. We had originally developed
SUCCEED (Self-care Using Couples Care EnhancEment in Disease), a 6 week self-care support
program that was pilot tested with Veterans with chronic heart failure and their spousal caregivers.
This was delivered via telephone or in-person based on participant preference with high
acceptability. Lessons learned from this pilot study included the need for a non-disease focused
program; the need to engage nonspousal caregivers; and the need to develop self-study programs
that can be accessed via the web. Therefore, we propose to adapt our SUCCEED program so that
it can be delivered over the web. The central hypothesis is that self-care is the product of patients,
caregivers, and their interactions and that eliminating the barriers to self-care as experienced by
both the Veteran and their caregivers is necessary to effectively manage chronic illnesses. The
rationale is that developing and testing alternate models of self-care is necessary to improve short-
term and long-term outcomes of chronic illnesses that impact most Veterans and costs the VA
millions of dollars. Guided by previous work and a strong theoretical model, we have developed
two specific aims: 1) Develop an interactive user interface for SUCCEED that can be hosted over
the web; 2) Field test the web-based program with 30 patients and 30 caregivers. Under Aim 1, we
will work with instructional designers and develop storyboards that finalize content, narrative script,
and hyperlinks to optimize navigation within the program, and to allow for asynchronous access.
We will also develop video vignettes to be embedded in the modules, to illustrate techniques that
are best learned through visual media (e.g., progressive muscle relaxation). We will conduct
usability testing with 10 participants. Results of the usability testing will be used to refine the
prototype. Under Aim 2, we will determine recruitment and retention procedures, assess
acceptability of the program, pilot surveys, and conduct a qualitative evaluation using semi-
structured feedback from participants. The proposed approach is innovative, because it seeks to
leverage existing social relationships between patients and their caregivers to enhance self-care of
chronic ...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10208961
- **Project number:** 5I21HX002228-02
- **Recipient organization:** VETERANS ADMIN PALO ALTO HEALTH CARE SYS
- **Principal Investigator:** Ranak Trivedi
- **Activity code:** I21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** VA
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** —
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-05-01 → 2018-10-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10208961

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10208961, Web-based Self-management Tool Targeting Patients and their Informal Caregivers (5I21HX002228-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10208961. Licensed CC0.

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