Helping the helpers: User-centered technology to aid caregiver management of medications for people with ADRD.

A 2-year NIH funded project led by Co-PIs Drs. Nicole Werner, PhD and Rich Holden, PhD.

06/01/2021 – 05/31/2023
$424,579 
1R21AG072418
 

Project summary

Most of the nearly 6 million people living with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the US rely on informal (family and friend) caregivers to help manage their medications. Caregivers are often untrained, under-resourced, and unsupported to perform vital medication tasks. Studies show caregiver-assisted medication management is associated with caregiver burden, stress, and potentially inappropriate medication use in one-third of people with ADRD. Unfortunately, the few interventions for ADRD caregivers addressing medications do not leverage information technology (IT), despite national recognition of IT’s vital role in ADRD care and caregiving. To address this gap, this project will develop an IT-based intervention to support caregivers managing medications for people with ADRD.

The project employs the three phases of user-centered design to create and test Helping the Helpers, an IT-based intervention to support caregiver-assisted medication management. First, to study the problem, we will conduct a user needs assessment of ADRD caregivers who manage medications for people with ADRD. Second, to design a solution, we will use participatory co-design with ADRD caregivers to create Helping the Helpers, an IT intervention to support caregiver-assisted medication management. Third, to test the solution, we will conduct feasibility testing to assess the usability and acceptance of Helping the Helpers with ADRD caregivers. User-centered design is the gold standard (e.g., FDA-mandated for all medical devices) process for designing products by involving representatives of the end-user population to better address user needs.