Developing and Evaluating In-Home Supportive Technology for Dementia Caregivers

AbstractCaring for a loved one with Alzheimer s diseasefrontotemporal dementiaor another neurodegenerative disease is a highly meaningful part of family lifeHoweverthe associated burden and strain can have adverse effects on caregivers including mental and physical health problemsreduced well beingand increased mortalityThese effectsin turncan compromise care quality and shorten survival times for people with dementiaPWDResearch has consistently found that behavioral symptoms in PWD are most strongly associated with adverse caregiver effectseven more so than cognitive and functional symptomsEmpiricallysupported interventions are needed thatatarget mechanisms pathways shown to connect behavioral symptoms in PWD with adverse effects in caregiversandbcan be disseminated successfully into larger community settingsIn this SBIR Fast Track applicationwe will developrefineand evaluate People Power CaregiverPPCga flexible and expandable hardware software system designed to integrate in home sensors and devicesemergency respondingsocial networkingand Internet of Thingsi edevices that can be controlled and communicated with via the internettechnologies to create a more supportive and safe home environment for caregivers and PWDPPCg monitors troublesome behaviors in PWDe gwanderingand targets mechanismse gworrysocial isolationthought to link behavioral symptoms in PWD with adverse caregiver outcomesPPCg is also designed to minimize demands on caregiverslimited time and energy and to provide a platform for data collection that can be used by researchers and care professionalsThis application is an innovative partnership between People PowerCEOGene Wangwww peoplepowerco comin Redwood CityCalifornia and the Berkeley Psychophysiology LaboratoryDirectorRobert WLevensonat the University of CaliforniaBerkeleyPeople Power is an award winningestablished leader in home monitoring and Internet of Things technology and has recently started developing assistive technologies for the elderlyThe Berkeley Psychophysiology Laboratory has been engaged in basic and applied research with PWD and other neurodegenerative diseases and their caregivers for the pastyearsThe proposal addresses three specific aimsAimFocus groupsIn Phase I of the projecta preliminary version of PPCg will be developed and refined with input from focus groups of caregivers and inhome testingStudyAimEfficacyIn the first year of Phase II of the projectthe first production version of PPCg will be installed by the research team inhomes and evaluated in a randomized controlled efficacy trial that includes careful diagnosis and assessment of emotional functioning in PWD and caregiversStudyAimEffectivenessIn the second year of Phase II of the projectworking with energy industry partnersa refined and expanded second production version of PPCg will be provided tohomes with familial caregivers for self installation and evaluation in a community based effectiveness trialStudyRelevanceDementias cause profound cognitiveemotionaland functional deficitsAs the disease progressespeople with dementia become increasingly dependent on caregiverswho are at heightened risk for mental and physical health problemsApplying assistive technology to monitor worrisome behaviorsimprove safetyand reduce social isolation in the home environment can reduce caregiver burden and improve care in ways that have major public health benefits