Clinical trial · Interventional
Dignity Therapy for Patients With Early Dementia and Their Family
Dignity Therapy: a Brief Psychological and Existential Intervention for Patients With Early Dementia and Their Family. A Randomized Controlled Trial
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Developed by Harvey M. Chochinov in 2005, Dignity Therapy (DT) invites individuals with life-limiting illnesses to reflect on matters of importance to them and compiles them in a narrative document for the patient to share. DT has shown to improve quality of life and a sense of dignity, as well as supporting relatives in the process of grievance. Featuring a gradual loss of memories of the past, decline of cognitive functions and awareness of self, dementia can be regarded as a life-limiting or life-changing illness, which is often accompanied by significant psychological stress. DT may help patients and their relatives reduce this stress. Yet, no studies have been conducted to determine the benefits of DT in patients with early stage dementia (ESD). This study investigates the feasibility and acceptance of DT by patients with (very) mild dementia (CDR: 0.5 - 1.5) and their relatives, as well as their overall satisfaction. This study further seeks to determine the effects of DT on sense of dignity, quality of life, dyadic coping, and levels of anxiety and depression in a randomized controlled design.
Conditions
Conditions (2)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dementia, Mild | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
| Depressive Disorder | — | UNRESOLVED | — |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dignity Therapy | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Interventiongroup
- description
- Dignity Therapy. Patients receive dignity-therapy-Intervention after randomization
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Dignity Therapy
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Waitinggroup
- description
- Patients receive dignity-therapy-Intervention after a waiting time of 3 months post randomization
Primary outcomes (2)
- measure
- Participation and refusal rate of Dignity Therapy among Patients with an early stage dementia
- timeFrame
- 10 days post randomization
- description
- Acceptance based on the participation and refusal rate and dropout rate.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Signed Informed Consent * Diagnosis of very mild dementia * older 18 years of age * Study partner (life partner, relative, close friend) available Exclusion Criteria: * Unable to speak and read German * Physical or cognitive incapacity to participate
References
Publications (0)
Data not yet available