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A randomized trial of two online platforms for dementia family caregivers: GamePlan4Care and Resources4Care
Stevens AB, Cho J, Birchfield T, Reese J, Han G, Thorud JL, Ory MG. Alzheimer's & Dementia, 2025-10-14
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Introduction Digital technologies can increase the accessibility of evidence-based caregiver programs. Methods A 6-month, phase I, exploratory, randomized-controlled trial of two dementia caregiver support platforms, GamePlan4Care (GP4C) and Resources4Care (R4C), each enrolling 120 community-based family caregivers. Outcome measures included burden, positive aspects of caregiving, social support, and depression. Results Caregivers showed significant follow-up improvements in burden (GP4C: effect size [ES] = 0.50, p Discussion GP4C was not superior to R4C; however, both platforms demonstrated improved outcomes. Findings highlight a health system's successful development and implementation of online dementia caregiver platforms. Improving digital technology for caregivers requires studies with larger populations and longitudinal outcomes. Trial registration number ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT04540198 HIGHLIGHTS: Online platforms can be useful in the goal of supporting family caregivers with educational and skills-training material to reduce the negative consequences of caregiving and to improve positive feelings of caregiving. Rules-based conditional logic was successfully integrated into a Web-based platform to tailor evidence-based strategies to an individual's unique caregiving context and needs. Health systems are in an ideal position to adopt online technologies that provide education, skills training, and support for family caregivers of persons living with dementia.
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
APA 7th
Stevens, A. B., Cho, J., Birchfield, T., Reese, J., Han, G., Thorud, J. L., et al. (2025). A randomized trial of two online platforms for dementia family caregivers: GamePlan4Care and Resources4Care. Alzheimer's & Dementia. https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70690
Vancouver
Stevens AB, Cho J, Birchfield T, Reese J, Han G, Thorud JL, et al. A randomized trial of two online platforms for dementia family caregivers: GamePlan4Care and Resources4Care. Alzheimer's & Dementia. 2025. doi:10.1002/alz.70690. PMID: 41085219.
BibTeX
@article{stevens2025-41085219,
author = {Stevens, A. B. and Cho, J. and Birchfield, T. and Reese, J. and Han, G. and Thorud, J. L. and Ory, M. G.},
title = {{A randomized trial of two online platforms for dementia family caregivers: GamePlan4Care and Resources4Care}},
journal = {Alzheimer's \& Dementia},
year = {2025},
doi = {10.1002/alz.70690},
pmid = {41085219},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1002/alz.70690}
}
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. The record names 7 authors; APA and Vancouver show the first six, BibTeX and the downloads carry all of them. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
Key findings
- Results Caregivers showed significant follow-up improvements in burden (GP4C: effect size [ES] = 0.50, p Discussion GP4C was not superior to R4C; however, both platforms demonstrated improved outcomes.
Why it matters
In this 6-month exploratory trial, both online platforms improved caregiver burden, but GamePlan4Care was not superior to Resources4Care. The authors note that larger studies with longer follow-up are needed to improve digital support for caregivers.
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Study details
- Study designRCT
- Participants240
- Effect sizeCaregiver burden effect size 0.50 (GamePlan4Care) and 0.47 (Resources4Care), no significant difference between platforms
- Evidence strengthEarly
Limitations
Phase 1 exploratory trial with no usual-care control, so improvements could partly reflect time or regression to the mean; single health system; 6-month follow-up.
How this study scored 59/100
Published in a leading specialty journal, and it is a randomized controlled trial. We have no data on free to read, so that was left out: it earned 58 of the 98 points we could judge it on, which is 59 out of 100.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 9 / 10 | Tier 2 — leading specialty journal (Alzheimer's & Dementia) |
| Journal's citation record | 2 / 4 | Alzheimer s & Dementia: journal h-index 228 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 11 / 12 | A randomized controlled trial |
| Strength of evidence | 2 / 5 | Rated “early” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 4 / 5 | 2025 — within 3 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 2 / 4 | 240 participants |
| Effect reported | 2 / 3 | Effect reported as a number, without an interval or test |
| Studied in people | 3 / 3 | Studied in people (participant count stated) |
| Randomized / blinded | 1 / 2 | Randomized (as stated in the record) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 2 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.7 citations a year over 3 year(s) since 2025 |
| Impact for its field and year | 2 / 6 | Cited 1.3× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 2 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Marcia G. Ory: h-index 71 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 2 / 3 | Baylor College of Medicine: institution h-index 1,607 (OpenAlex) |
| Multicenter collaboration | 2 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 5 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 41085219) |
| Free to read | — / 2 | Access not recorded — left out of this score |
| Points | 58 / 98 | Scored on 19 of 20 parts. We have no data for the rest, so they are left out: 58 of the 98 points we could judge it on is 59 out of 100. |
| Total | 59 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
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