Pilot Outcomes

Grant Funding: R41 AG092119

Continuation of VR technology development focused on the caregiver side of the dyad. Public Health Relevance Statement: The VR-CARES project is an innovative, collaborative effort that invites home health dementia caregivers into the design process of a virtual reality platform seeking to mitigate their work-related burden and social isolation by cultivating a virtual community of support. The co-created, caregiver-specific VR platform will serve as a safe, communal space where caregivers can remotely connect with their peers, share fun experiences together, access support, learn self-care and build resilience within a supportive virtual network to enhance their social and mental health and job satisfaction. Central to VR-CARES is the principle of user-led innovation, ensuring that the technology not only serves but is informed and successfully adopted by the very individuals it intends to benefit, an important standard…

Continue ReadingGrant Funding: R41 AG092119

Publication: Returning Individualized Wearable Sensor Results to Older Adult Research Participants: A Pilot Study

Authors: Shelby L Bachman, Krista S Leonard-Corzo, Jennifer M Blankenship, Michael A Busa, Corinna Serviente, Matthew W Limoges, Robert T Marcotte, Ieuan Clay, Kate Lyden Abstract Background: Wearable sensors that monitor physical behaviors are increasingly adopted in clinical research. Older adult research participants have expressed interest in tracking and receiving feedback on their physical behaviors. Simultaneously, researchers and clinical trial sponsors are interested in returning results to participants, but the question of how to return individual study results derived from research-grade wearable sensors remains unanswered. In this study, we (1) assessed the feasibility of returning individual physical behavior results to older adult research participants and (2) obtained participant feedback on the returned results. Methods: Older adult participants (N = 20; ages 67-96) underwent 14 days of remote monitoring with 2 wearable sensors. We then used a semiautomated…

Continue ReadingPublication: Returning Individualized Wearable Sensor Results to Older Adult Research Participants: A Pilot Study