# Mobile, Web-based Behavioral Intervention for Improving Caregiver Well-being

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2020 · $511,515

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
 Over 15 million men and women provide informal caregiving services to family members who have dementia.1
The literature is replete with evidence that caregiving results in high rates of depression and distress,2 and
potentially high rates of physical morbidity.3, 4 For example, 40% of caregivers are at risk for depression
compared to just 5% of non-caregiving older adults.5 Further, increased symptoms of depression and distress in
caregivers are associated with accelerated risk for developing cardiovascular disease.6 Thus, efficacious
interventions for reducing caregiver distress appear potentially valuable for both mental and physical well-being.
 Given the distress experienced by caregivers, it is no surprise that over 80 intervention studies for reducing
caregiver distress have been published.7 The message from these studies is that caregiver interventions, in
general, are effective for reducing distress. Yet, the implementation of Evidence Based Treatments (EBTs)
continues to be a challenge. Despite identification of EBTs, their use at the community-level has been absent.
In 2007, NIH sponsored a workshop on the use of EBTs for caregivers. The conclusion was that “The majority
of effective interventions for caregivers were not being implemented through the aging network.”8 Ten years
later, this lack of implementation remains. It is critical that scientists develop interventions for caregivers with
maximal reach and minimal cost. Currently, most caregiver intervention frameworks require caregivers to meet
with a therapist in one of four formats: a) face-to-face meetings with a therapist outside the caregiver's home, b)
face-to-face meetings with a therapist in the caregiver's home, c) in-person, group-based meetings, or d) phone-
based interventions in which caregivers call a therapist or support group. While possibly efficacious, these
therapeutic formats are limited because: a) community agencies serving caregivers do not offer EBTs, b) the
interventions are often not accessible to caregivers who reside outside the care network, c) they require
caregivers to attend therapy sessions on specific days and times that may not be convenient for them, or d) they
may require caregivers to find alternate care for their care recipients while they attend the therapy. To address
these limitations, we have adapted an evidence-based, brief Behavioral Activation (BA) program to be delivered
to caregivers via mobile phones with internet-based capabilities, thereby increasing caregivers' access to quality
care. This mobile intervention has received positive feedback in feasibility testing, and we are now poised to
conduct a full-scale trial of this intervention for improving key caregiver well-being outcomes. Further, we will test
mechanisms of action, namely that increased behavioral activation promotes well-being in caregivers. To do so,
we will recruit and randomize 200 caregivers to receive either a mobile BA intervention (N = 100) known...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9971426
- **Project number:** 5R01AG061941-03
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** BRENT T MAUSBACH
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $511,515
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2018-09-30 → 2023-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9971426

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9971426, Mobile, Web-based Behavioral Intervention for Improving Caregiver Well-being (5R01AG061941-03). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9971426. Licensed CC0.

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