Randomized Controlled Trial of the Caregiver Orientation for Mobilizing Personal Assets and Strengths for Self-Care (COMPASS) for Caregiving Journey: A National Family Caregiver Support Program in a Long-Term Care Insurance System

Objectives: To investigate the effects of a national support program on family caregivers for long-term care (LTC) recipients. Design: A single-blinded randomized controlled trial compared the 8-week Caregiver Orientation for Mobilizing Personal Assets and Strengths for Self-Care (COMPASS) program consisting of 6 individual inhome, 3 group support, and 2 telephone sessions with a multicomponent intervention, and a control group. Setting and Participants: In total, 969 caregivers who were living with LTC recipients assessed as having a high caregiving burden in 12 Korean cities. Measures: The primary outcomes were depression, burden, and stress levels of caregivers, the secondary outcomes were caregiver self-efficacy, positive aspects of caregiving, social support, social activities, and health risk behaviors. These outcomes were measured at baseline and after the 8-week program, analyzed using modified intention-to-treat, per-protocol (PP), and non-PP analyses. Results: The modified intention-to-treat analysis revealed significant improvements in burden (effect size, = 0.010, P =.008), depression (h2p = 0.012, P = .003), and health risk behaviors (h2p = 0.010, P =.012) for the experimental group compared with the control group. However, there were no significant differences between the 2 groups in improving stress (P =.997), social support (P =.234), or social activities (P =.816). The PP analysis indicated that the COMPASS program was successful in increasing positive aspects of caregiving (h2p = 0.013, P =.004) and self-efficacy (h2p = 0.010, P =.032) compared with the control group. Conclusions and Implications: The COMPASS program was effective in family caregivers of LTC recipients in critical aspects of physical and psychological outcomes, especially in demonstrating the important role of participating in group support sessions. It is feasible for the program to become a formal national support program as part of the national insurance system in Republic of Korea. (C) 2020 AMDA - The Society for Post-Acute and Long-Term Care Medicine.