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Ruggiano N, Brown EL, Clarke PJ, Vagelis V, Roberts L, Framil CV, Allala SC, Hurley S, Kopcsik C, Daquin J, Chavez H, Chang-Lau R, Agronin M, Geldmacher DS
An Evidence-Based IT Program With Chatbot to Support Caregiving and Clinical Care for People With Dementia: The CareHeroes Development and Usability Pilot
Development of an Evidence-based Information Technology Program with Chatbot to Support Caregiving and Clinical Care for People With Dementia: The CareHeroes Pilot
Nicole Ruggiano;
Ellen Leslie Brown;
Peter J. Clarke;
Vagelis Vagelis;
Lisa Roberts;
Carmen Victoria Framil;
Sai Chaithra Allala;
Shannon Hurley;
Chrystine Kopcsik;
Jane Daquin;
Hamilton Chavez;
Raymond Chang-Lau;
Marc Agronin;
David S Geldmacher
ABSTRACT
Background:
There are numerous communication barriers between family caregivers and providers of people living with dementia (PLWD), which can pose challenges to caregiving and clinical decision making. To address these barriers, a new web and mobile-enabled app, called CareHeroes, was developed to promote the collection and secured sharing of clinical information between caregivers and providers. It also provides caregiver support and education.
Objective:
The primary study objective was to examine whether dementia caregivers would use CareHeroes as an adjunct to care and gather psychosocial data from those who used the app for a 1-year period.
Methods:
This paper presents the implementation process used to integrate CareHeroes into clinical care at two memory clinics and outcome evaluation. Family caregivers receiving services at clinics were asked to use the app for a 12-month period to collect, track, and share clinical information with the care recipient’s provider. They also used it to assess their own mental health symptoms. Psychosocial outcomes were assessed through telephone interviews and user data were collected by the app.
Results:
A total of 21 caregivers enrolled in the pilot study across the two memory clinics. Usage data indicated that caregivers used many of the features in the CareHeroes app, though the chatbot was the most frequently used feature. Outcome data indicated that caregivers’ depression was lower at 3-month follow-up (t(11) = 2.03, p = 0.03).
Conclusions:
Recruitment and retention of the pilot study was impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and therefore more testing is needed with a larger sample to determine the potential impact of CareHeroes on caregivers’ mental health. Despite this limitation, the pilot study demonstrated that integrating a new supportive app for caregivers as an adjunct to clinical dementia care is feasible. Implications for future technology intervention development, implementation planning, and testing for caregivers of PLWD are discussed.
Citation
Please cite as:
Ruggiano N, Brown EL, Clarke PJ, Vagelis V, Roberts L, Framil CV, Allala SC, Hurley S, Kopcsik C, Daquin J, Chavez H, Chang-Lau R, Agronin M, Geldmacher DS
An Evidence-Based IT Program With Chatbot to Support Caregiving and Clinical Care for People With Dementia: The CareHeroes Development and Usability Pilot