TY - JOUR
T1 - Preliminary Efficacy of Let's Talk Tech
T2 - Technology Use Planning for Dementia Care Dyads
AU - Berridge, Clara
AU - Turner, Natalie R.
AU - Liu, Liu
AU - Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I.
AU - Lyons, Karen S.
AU - Demiris, George
AU - Kaye, Jeffrey
AU - Lober, William B.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Author(s).
PY - 2023
Y1 - 2023
N2 - Background and Objective: Care partners of people living with dementia require support to knowledgeably navigate decision making about how and when to use monitoring technologies for care purposes. We conducted a pilot study of a novel self-administered intervention, "Let's Talk Tech,"for people living with mild dementia and their care partners. This paper presents preliminary efficacy findings of this intervention designed to educate and facilitate dyadic communication about a range of technologies used in dementia care and to document the preferences of the person living with dementia. It is the first-of-its-kind decision-making and planning tool with a specific focus on technology use. Research Design and Methods: We used a 1-group pretest-post-test design and paired t tests to assess change over 2 time periods in measures of technology comprehension, care partner knowledge of the participant living with mild Alzheimer's disease's (AD) preferences, care partner preparedness to make decisions about technology use, and mutual understanding. Thematic analysis was conducted on postintervention interview transcripts to elucidate mechanisms and experiences with Let's Talk Tech. Results: Twenty-nine mild AD dementia care dyads who live together completed the study. There was statistically significant improvement with medium and large effect sizes on outcome measures of care partners' understanding of each technology, care partners' perceptions of the person living with dementia's understanding of each technology, knowledge of the person living with dementia's preferences, decision-making preparedness, and care partners' feelings of mutual understanding. Participants reported that it helped them have important and meaningful conversations about using technology. Discussion and Implications: Let's Talk Tech demonstrated promising preliminary efficacy on targeted measures that can lead to informed, shared decision making about technologies used in dementia care. Future studies should assess efficacy with larger samples and more diverse sample populations in terms of race, ethnicity, and dementia type.
AB - Background and Objective: Care partners of people living with dementia require support to knowledgeably navigate decision making about how and when to use monitoring technologies for care purposes. We conducted a pilot study of a novel self-administered intervention, "Let's Talk Tech,"for people living with mild dementia and their care partners. This paper presents preliminary efficacy findings of this intervention designed to educate and facilitate dyadic communication about a range of technologies used in dementia care and to document the preferences of the person living with dementia. It is the first-of-its-kind decision-making and planning tool with a specific focus on technology use. Research Design and Methods: We used a 1-group pretest-post-test design and paired t tests to assess change over 2 time periods in measures of technology comprehension, care partner knowledge of the participant living with mild Alzheimer's disease's (AD) preferences, care partner preparedness to make decisions about technology use, and mutual understanding. Thematic analysis was conducted on postintervention interview transcripts to elucidate mechanisms and experiences with Let's Talk Tech. Results: Twenty-nine mild AD dementia care dyads who live together completed the study. There was statistically significant improvement with medium and large effect sizes on outcome measures of care partners' understanding of each technology, care partners' perceptions of the person living with dementia's understanding of each technology, knowledge of the person living with dementia's preferences, decision-making preparedness, and care partners' feelings of mutual understanding. Participants reported that it helped them have important and meaningful conversations about using technology. Discussion and Implications: Let's Talk Tech demonstrated promising preliminary efficacy on targeted measures that can lead to informed, shared decision making about technologies used in dementia care. Future studies should assess efficacy with larger samples and more diverse sample populations in terms of race, ethnicity, and dementia type.
KW - Caregiving
KW - Decision making
KW - Ethics
KW - Information Technology
KW - Person-centered care
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U2 - 10.1093/geroni/igad018
DO - 10.1093/geroni/igad018
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85163887310
SN - 2399-5300
VL - 7
JO - Innovation in Aging
JF - Innovation in Aging
IS - 3
M1 - igad018
ER -