Comparing treatment fidelity between study arms of a randomized controlled clinical trial for stroke family caregivers

Objective:To compare treatment fidelity among treatment arms in the Telephone Assessment and Skill-Building Kit study for stroke caregivers (TASK II) with respect to: 1) protocol adherence; 2) intervention dosage and 3) nurse intervener perspectives.Design:A randomized controlled clinical trial design.Setting:Urban, community, midwestern United States.Subjects:A total of 254 stroke caregivers (mean ±SD age, 54.4 ±11.8 years), 55 (22.0%) males and 199 (78.4%) females) randomized to the TASK II intervention (n=123) or an Information, Support, and Referral comparison group (n=131).Interventions:TASK II participants received the TASK II Resource Guide; Information, Support, and Referral participants received a standard caregiver brochure. At approximately 8 weeks after discharge, both groups received 8 weekly calls from a nurse, with a booster call 4 weeks later.Measures:Protocol adherence was evaluated with the TASK II Checklist for Monitoring Adherence. Intervention dosage was measured by the number of minu...