Given the large number of persons with dementia (PWD) who move into long-term care (LTC) settings each year, andthe issues that arise during both this process and their subsequent adaptation to the new living situation, there is a need fora person-centered program to improve both the transition itself and to assist PWD in adapting to their new environment.This Phase I study will involve initial development and evaluation of an innovative cross-platform software app called AllAbout Me (AAM), which will consist of Serious Digital Health Games (SDHGs) for PWD. The AAM App will assist staff inproviding person-centered care and enable residents to improve relationships with one another and with staff, therebypromoting a sense of community. The market-ready version of the AAM App will consist of five components. (1) The Fun Facts About Me Game will beused when a PWD is moving into LTC. Family members of PWD will play this game with their relative with dementia. Thegoal of the game is to provide an enjoyable way for family members and PWD to provide important information about thePWD's social history, personal interests, and care preferences. (2) The Resident Game Bundle will consist of SDHGs thatwill allow PWD to learn about one another in an enjoyable way. Game content will be automatically created, based upondata collected during the Fun Facts About Me Game. (3) The My Residents Module will provide staff with a convenient wayto view information about a PWD with whom they will be working. Staff will launch this module from any device, includinga smartwatch in the market-ready version. (4) The Meet the Staff Module, which will be developed and tested in a futurePhase II study, will allow residents to learn about staff members at their community, thereby improving relationshipsbetween staff members and PWD. (5) The AAM Training Modules will provide staff and family members with access tovideo-based training modules that describe how to use relevant portions of the app. This Phase I study has three Specific Aims, which will be completed by three project teams over the course of 12 months. Aim 1. Develop an Alpha version of the AAM App. The Software Team and Content Team will work collaborativelyto complete Aim 1 during Months 1-7 of the project. They will create (1) The Fun Facts About Me Game and a singleResident Game Bundle game, (2) Two categories of information for the My Residents Module, and (3) Alpha versions ofstaff and family member Training Modules. Development of the AAM App will be iterative and be informed by AdvisoryPanels of staff members, family members, and PWD. Aim 2. Examine acceptability of and satisfaction with the AAM App. Aim 3. Examine the impact of the Resident Game Bundle / Survey Says Game on engagement/affect. The Experimental Team will meet Aims 2 and 3 by conducting a quasi-experiment with 24 PWD, 12 Staff, and 24 FamilyMembers during Months 8-11. After an initial 4-week Baseline Period, staff and PWD will be asked to use the AAM Appduring Months 9-10, while family members will play The Fun Facts About Me Game at least once during Month 9.
Public Health Relevance Statement: PROJECT NARRATIVE
Each year, a large number of persons with dementia (PWD) move into long-term care (LTC). Since this transition often
causes the PWD to experience sadness, anxiety, agitation, cognitive decline, and social isolation, there is an urgent need for
a convenient and simple way to both gather and access information about new LTC residents, so that person-centered care
can be provided to newly-admitted PWD. The proposed Phase I project will help meet this need through the development
and evaluation of a cross-platform application called All About Me.
Project Terms:
