背景:阿尔茨海默病(AD)和AD相关痴呆是老年人群普遍关注的问题。随着居住在美国的老年人口的增长,痴呆症患者的数量预计会增加,对非正式护理人员构成重大挑战。与照顾相关的精神和身体负担突出了开发新颖有效的资源以支持照顾者的重要性。然而,由于可用性问题和缺乏上下文相关性,旨在满足其需求的技术解决方案通常面临较低的采用率。这项研究的重点是开发一个基于网络的平台,为痴呆症护理人员提供财务和法律规划信息和教育,并评估平台的可用性和可采性。
目的:该项目的目标是创建一个基于Web的平台,将护理人员与个性化且易于访问的资源连接起来。这个项目涉及到工业,学术,和社区合作伙伴,并专注于两个主要目标:(1)使用痴呆症护理个性化算法开发数字平台,并评估试点护理人员的可行性,(2)评估数字平台在不同种族或族裔人群中的可接受性和可用性。这项工作将有助于开发基于技术的干预措施,以减轻护理人员的负担。
方法:第一阶段研究遵循迭代设计思维方法,包括至少25名痴呆症护理人员作为用户反馈小组,以评估平台的功能,美学,信息,使用改编的移动应用评定量表和整体质量。第二阶段是一项可用性研究,对德克萨斯州的300名痴呆症护理人员(100名非裔美国人,100西班牙裔或拉丁裔,和100名非西班牙裔白人)。参与者将使用数字平台约4周,并通过技术验收调查评估其实用性和易用性。
结果:该研究于2021年9月3日获得了国家老龄化研究所的资助。第一阶段的道德批准于2021年12月8日从德克萨斯农工大学机构审查委员会获得,数据收集于2022年1月1日开始,并于2022年5月31日结束。第一阶段结果分别于2023年9月5日和2024年4月17日发布。2023年6月21日,对人类受试者进行了第二阶段的伦理批准,参与者招募于2023年7月1日开始。
结论:完成这些目标后,我们希望提供一个可广泛访问的数字平台,通过将痴呆症护理人员与个性化,帮助他们应对财务和法律挑战,德克萨斯州的上下文相关信息和资源。如果成功,我们计划与护理组织合作,扩大和维持平台,满足日益增长的痴呆症患者的需求。
■DERR1-10.2196/64127。
BACKGROUND: Alzheimer disease (AD) and AD-related dementia are prevalent concerns for aging populations. With a growing older adult population living in the United States, the number of people living with dementia is expected to grow, posing significant challenges for informal caregivers. The mental and physical burdens associated with caregiving highlight the importance of developing novel and effective resources to support caregivers. However, technology solutions designed to address their needs often face low adoption rates due to usability issues and a lack of contextual relevance. This study focuses on developing a web-based platform providing financial and legal planning information and education for dementia caregivers and evaluating the platform\'s usability and adoptability.
OBJECTIVE: The goal of this project is to create a web-based platform that connects caregivers with personalized and easily accessible resources. This project involves industrial, academic, and community partners and focuses on two primary aims: (1) developing a digital platform using a Dementia Care Personalization Algorithm and assessing feasibility in a pilot group of caregivers, and (2) evaluating the acceptability and usability of the digital platform across different racial or ethnic populations. This work will aid in the development of technology-based interventions to reduce caregiver burden.
METHODS: The phase I study follows an iterative Design Thinking approach, involving at least 25 dementia caregivers as a user feedback panel to assess the platform\'s functionality, aesthetics, information, and overall quality using the adapted Mobile Application Rating Scale. Phase II is a usability study with 300 dementia caregivers in Texas (100 African American, 100 Hispanic or Latinx, and 100 non-Hispanic White). Participants will use the digital platform for about 4 weeks and evaluate its usefulness and ease of use through the Technology Acceptance Survey.
RESULTS: The study received funding from the National Institute on Aging on September 3, 2021. Ethical approval for phase I was obtained from the Texas A&M University Institutional Review Board on December 8, 2021, with data collection starting on January 1, 2022, and concluding on May 31, 2022. Phase I results were published on September 5, 2023, and April 17, 2024, respectively. On June 21, 2023, ethical approval for human subjects for phase II was granted, and participant recruitment began on July 1, 2023.
CONCLUSIONS: Upon completing these aims, we expect to deliver a widely accessible digital platform tailored to assist dementia caregivers with financial and legal challenges by connecting them to personalized, contextually relevant information and resources in Texas. If successful, we plan to work with caregiving organizations to scale and sustain the platform, addressing the needs of the growing population living with dementia.
UNASSIGNED: DERR1-10.2196/64127.