Delivering a holistic hospital‐to‐home framework to support family caregivers of persons with dementia: Protocol for a feasibility study

AIM: To evaluate the feasibility of the Carer Matters holistic hospital‐to‐home framework for family caregivers of people with dementia. BACKGROUND: Family caregivers of persons with dementia face a unique blend of stressors, from behavioural management to navigating the healthcare system. It is important to provide support and assistance to help caregivers cope to enable a sustained capacity for caregiving. This led to our establishment of Carer Matters, the first holistic caregiver‐centric hospital‐to‐home framework of support for caregivers of persons with dementia in Singapore. METHODS: A multimethod study design will be used. We will assess the programme's feasibility and effectiveness using a Theory of Change approach, with findings synthesized using the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE‐AIM) framework. Our study will involve six inpatient wards of a 1700‐bedded acute care hospital over 12 months. Qualitative data will be obtained from interviews of stakeholders—caregivers, healthcare professionals, hospital leaders and community leaders. Quantitative data will be collected from programme logs, surveys and evaluation forms that capture self‐reported levels of mastery, anxiety, burden, and depression. Funding has been approved by the Geriatric Education and Research Institute (GERI) Intramural Project Grant (GERI Ref: GERI1626) on May 2020 for this study (£103,659), to be conducted from December 2020 to June 2022. DISCUSSION: The stresses faced by caregivers of persons with dementia are wide and complex, necessitating a multi‐faceted caregiver‐oriented solution to provide sustained support, empower better management and continued capacity to care. Our study would provide insights on the feasibility and effectiveness of a caregiver‐centric support programme stretching from the hospital into the community. IMPACT: These findings will provide a blueprint on how to implement a hospital‐to‐home patient‐caregiver framework and provide policymakers, clinicians, and advocacy groups with critical insights on the potential patient‐caregiver‐healthcare system outcomes that can be derived.