In-Lab Development of a Mobile Interface for Cognitive Assistive Technology to Support Instrumental Activities of Daily Living in Dementia Homecare

Abstract 5.5 million Americans have Alzheimer’s disease or some form of dementia and by mid-century, the number of people living with dementia in the United States is projected to grow to 13.8 million. About half of the persons with dementia currently live at home, 43% require occasional support, 47% daily support, and 10% continuous support; with most of this support provided by informal family caregivers. Caregivers face on-going significant risk throughout the ebb and flow of providing care, as care recipients may lose grasp of their understanding of their circumstances, relying heavily on caregivers for all aspects of support. This support includes prompting and cueing through the multi-step instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) such as meal preparation and house-keeping which require complex cognitive processing and are cognitively demanding. This paper describes the preliminary pilot study work laying the groundwork for ongoing development of a cognitive assistive technology (CAT) to support IADLs in dementia homecare. Through a user-centered design methodology, an online survey for caregivers identified areas of the home with the highest levels of IADL needs, aiding in the development of an 800 sq ft mock-up apartment for preliminary testing of the mobile interface for the CAT tool.