In-Home Technology for Caregivers of People With Dementia and Mild Cognitive Impairment: Rural Homes

Commercializing In-Home Supportive Technology for Dementia Caregivers

This study aims to develop, evaluate, and commercialize an in-home supportive technology that is designed to alleviate anxiety, burden, and loneliness in spousal and familial caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, or mild cognitive impairment in rural homes.

This study aims to develop, refine, evaluate, and commercialize a hardware/software system designed to integrate in-home sensors and devices, Internet-of-Things technologies (i.e., devices that can be controlled and communicated with via the internet), and social networking to create a more safe and supportive home environment for caregivers and people who have Alzheimer's disease, other dementias, or mild cognitive impairment. The system monitors troublesome behaviors in people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment (e.g., wandering), and targets mechanisms (e.g., worry, social isolation) thought to link behavioral symptoms in people with dementia or mild cognitive impairment with adverse caregiver outcomes (declines in health and well-being). The system is designed to minimize demands on caregivers' limited time and energy and to provide a platform for data collection that can be used by researchers and care professionals.

Hypotheses:

1. Rural caregivers in the active treatment condition will have better health and well-being (i.e., less caregiver depression, anxiety, loneliness, and burden) and higher user satisfaction compared to those in the control condition.
2. The magnitude of the difference in health and well-being and user satisfaction for rural caregivers in the active treatment condition compared to those in the control condition will increase over time (reflecting additional bot learning and ability to adjust to changing caregiver needs).
3. In the active treatment condition, greater utilization of features (e.g., selecting and receiving warnings, obtaining daily reports, accessing social support services) will be associated with better caregiver health and well-being and higher user satisfaction.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Caregivers are fluent/literate in English
• Caregivers currently reside in the United States with spouse/family member who has received a medical diagnosis of Alzheimer's disease, other dementia, or mild cognitive impairment
• Caregivers live in rural areas (using Rural-Urban Commuting Area Codes data)
• Caregivers primarily use a smartphone (e.g., iPhone, Android)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Caregivers providing care for individuals with known non-neurodegenerative conditions affecting behavior and cognition
• Caregivers providing care for individuals with longstanding Axis I psychiatric disorder
• Caregivers providing care for individuals with metabolic disorder or major organ dysfunction
• Caregivers providing care for individuals with alcohol abuse or dependence (within 5 years of dementia onset)
• Caregivers providing care for individuals with head trauma with loss of consciousness greater than 30 minutes
• Caregivers providing care for individuals with contraindications to MRI imaging
• Caregivers providing care for individuals with large confluent white matter lesions
• Caregivers providing care for individuals with significant systemic medical illness
• Caregivers providing care for individuals who use a medication likely to affect central nervous system functions adversely