A randomized controlled trial of the caring connections intervention to reduce loneliness in persons with spinal cord injuries and disorders.

Purpose/objective: To evaluate the Caring Connections intervention compared to an attention control condition on loneliness, perceived burdensomeness (PB), and thwarted belongingness (TB).

Research method/design: In a two-arm parallel randomized controlled trial (RCT), 58 individuals with spinal cord injuries and disorders were randomized 1:1 to the intervention or the attention control condition. Block randomization with random block sizes of 2, 4, or 6 and allocation concealment were used to assign individuals to arms.

Results: Both groups showed within-group improvements in loneliness from baseline to post-RCT, but no statistically significant differences in change scores between the conditions over time. The treatment group showed within-group improvement in PB from baseline to post (p = .0008), but not in TB. The control group showed within-group improvement in TB from baseline to post (p = .04), but not in PB. No significant differences over time were found for either PB or TB between conditions. A greater proportion of the treatment versus control group found the program to be beneficial (76% vs. 45%, p = .02) and satisfactory (79% vs. 52%, p = .03).

Conclusions/implications: We did not demonstrate that the Caring Connections intervention reduced feelings of loneliness compared to the control condition. We found significant within-group improvements in loneliness from baseline to post-RCT for both groups. Within-group improvements in PB were seen in the treatment group and TB in the control group, but no significant differences in change scores over time between conditions. Communication over a 6-month period (from personalized peer letters or informational material on quality of life) had some impact on loneliness, PB, and TB. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved).