The MARQUE project: Managing agitation and raising quality of life to improve agitation for people with dementia in care homes

ISRCTN ISRCTN96745365
DOI https://doi.org/10.1186/ISRCTN96745365
Secondary identifying numbers 17341
Submission date
11/09/2014
Registration date
11/09/2014
Last edited
18/03/2019
Recruitment status
No longer recruiting
Overall study status
Completed
Condition category
Mental and Behavioural Disorders
Prospectively registered
Protocol
Statistical analysis plan
Results
Individual participant data

Plain English Summary

Background and study aims
Changes in the behaviour of people with dementia are very common, and usually get worse as the disease progresses. More than half of patients with dementia who are living in care homes regularly experience feelings of agitation. There is evidence to show that these feelings can be linked to a lower quality of life for the patient, as well as higher care costs compared to patients who are not agitated. Although agitation is common in dementia patients, many staff in care homes are not trained to deal with these behaviours. The aim of this study is to find out whether introducing new training practices in care homes to help deal with agitated patients can help to improve their quality of life and lower levels of agitation.

Who can participate?
1. Care homes with at least 17 patients with dementia who will allow training sessions for the study.
2. Paid carers who provide face-to-face care for people with dementia.
3. Patients with a diagnosis of dementia
4. Family members of patient with dementia involved in the study who see their relatives at least once a month.

What does the study involve?
Staff and managers in care homes are interviewed in order to find out the main things that help and hinder changes in policies. This information is then used in the development of a programme for the care homes. Paid carers are then trained, using the manual, to reduce agitation in patients with dementia, as well as prevent new cases of agitation from developing. After 8 months, a questionnaire (Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory) is completed in order to assess the levels of agitation in the residents.

What are the possible benefits and risks of participating?
Not provided at time of registration

Where is the study run from?
Charles Bell House, University College London (UK)

When is the study starting and how long is it expected to run for?
July 2014 to September 2018

Who is funding the study?
National Institute for Health Research (UK)

Who is the main contact?
Ms Debbie Livingston
d.livingston@ucl.ac.uk

Study website

Contact information

Dr Sian Cousins
Scientific

Division of Psychiatry
University College London
6th Floor, Maple House
149 Tottenham Court Road
London
W1T 7NF
United Kingdom

Phone +44 20 7679 9324
Email sian.cousins@ucl.ac.uk
Dr Anne Laybourne
Public

Division of Psychiatry
University College London
6th Floor, Maple House
149 Tottenham Court Road
London
W1T 7NF
United Kingdom

Phone +44 (0) 20 7679 9324
Email a.laybourne@ucl.ac.uk

Study information

Study designMulti-centre randomised controlled trial.
Primary study designInterventional
Secondary study designRandomised controlled trial
Study setting(s)Other
Study typeQuality of life
Scientific titleThe MARQUE project: Managing Agitation and Raising QUality of Life: Cluster RCT to improve agitation for people with dementia in care homes
Study acronymMARQUE
Study hypothesisOur manual based intervention and strategy for changing care home culture decrease the mean level of agitation (measured by Cohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory; CMAI) in residents with dementia eight months later, compared with usual practice?
Ethics approval(s)London - Queen Square Research Ethics Committee, 02/10/215, ref: 14/LO/0697
ConditionDementia
InterventionCare homes are randomly allocated to one of two groups.

Intervention group: Staff take part in the manual based training package to teach staff in care home about managing agitation in dementia. This involves all day staff who are involved in personal care of residents from Managers down taking part in 6, 2 hours group sessions over 12 weeks. The intervention sessions will follow a manual with practical homework. Supervision sessions for care home staff will be available following training.

Control group: Staff will continue with their TAU training, we expect the TAU to be similar to good “TAU” throughout the UK

Eight months from baseline, follow up assessments will be carried out in both groups.
Intervention typeOther
Primary outcome measureCohen-Mansfield Agitation Inventory (CMAI) total is measured at 8 months.
Secondary outcome measures1. Cost effectiveness in terms of agitation (CMAI) is measured at 8 months
2. Cost effectiveness in terms of QALYS is measured at 8 months
3. Quality of life of residents in the intervention group compared to the control group is measured at 8 months
4. Reducation in clinically significant agitation(CMAI>45)in intervention group compared to control group is measured at 8 months
5. Reduction in neuropsychiatric symptoms overall in intervention group compared to control group is measured at 8 months
Overall study start date17/07/2014
Overall study end date01/09/2018

Eligibility

Participant type(s)Patient
Age groupSenior
SexBoth
Target number of participantsPlanned Sample Size: 340; UK Sample Size: 340
Participant inclusion criteriaCare homes inclusion criteria:
1. The minimum number of residents required for a home’s inclusion in the study have dementia (17)
2. Care home is willing to be randomised
3. Care home will commit to allow mandatory training sessions, training staff champions to continue implementation (two per home to take account of possible staff turnover) and changing management procedures, to integrate the new techniques into care
4. Care home will commit to approaching residents and relatives
5. No plans to close over the following year

Inclusion criteria for paid carers:
1. Paid carer who provides face to face care for residents, at least some of whom have dementia.
2. Carer willing to complete the questionnaires about residents with dementia whom they know well
3. Carer willing to answer questions about their own coping

Inclusion criteria for residents with dementia:
1. Dementia diagnosis according to Noticeable Problems Checklist or known dementia diagnosis

Inclusion criteria for family carer:
1. Identifies themselves as the primary family carer for a resident in the home who either consents to the study or if the resident does not have capacity to consent to the study then the family carer has agreed that they will be in the study
2. See their relative with dementia at least monthly
Participant exclusion criteriaExclusion criteria for care homes:
Less than 70% of the staff consent to the study after the care home manager has agreed to the study but before randomisation.
Recruitment start date17/07/2014
Recruitment end date01/09/2018

Locations

Countries of recruitment

  • England
  • United Kingdom

Study participating centre

Charles Bell House
67-73 Riding House Street
London
W1W 7EJ
United Kingdom

Sponsor information

University College London (UK)
University/education

Gower Street
London
WC1E 6BT
England
United Kingdom

ROR logo "ROR" https://ror.org/02jx3x895

Funders

Funder type

Government

National Institute for Health Research (ESCR/NIHR) (UK); Grant Codes: ES/L001780/1
Government organisation / National government
Alternative name(s)
National Institute for Health Research, NIHR Research, NIHRresearch, NIHR - National Institute for Health Research, NIHR (The National Institute for Health and Care Research), NIHR
Location
United Kingdom

Results and Publications

Intention to publish date
Individual participant data (IPD) Intention to shareNo
IPD sharing plan summaryNot provided at time of registration
Publication and dissemination planNot provided at time of registration
IPD sharing plan

Study outputs

Output type Details Date created Date added Peer reviewed? Patient-facing?
Results article results 01/04/2019 Yes No
HRA research summary 28/06/2023 No No

Editorial Notes

18/03/2019: Publication reference added.
30/05/2018: Public contact and trial website added.
11/01/2015: The interventions section has been updated to include further information about the control group and intervention group methodology, which was not originally included in the record.