None listed
Conditions
Brief summary
(i) Aims of the project Aged care residents with dementia present with high rates of agitated behaviour and lowered quality of life, which is associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety, and carer burden. While research has demonstrated that personalised activities and stimuli (such as favourite music and audio recordings of family members) can help in addressing these behaviours, people with marked dementia are often unable to access them without the direct assistance of family or staff carers. Our team has designed a device that provides easy access to personalised multimedia, including photographs, music, videotaped family greetings and movies on a portable device. In this project, we aim to evaluate the effectiveness of this device in reducing agitated behaviour and improving quality of life among aged care residents with dementia and also examine its feasibility for routine use. Hypotheses: (1) Participants who receive the personalised multimedia interface device will have decreased severity and frequency of agitated behaviour and improved quality of life relative to their scores during the control period. (2) Participants who receive the device will also report lower levels of depression and anxiety. (2) Aged care staff will perceive their carer role as less burdensome during the period when the resident receives the device than during the control period. In addition, our feasibility study will (i) determine what level of support from staff and families is required for participants to use the device; (ii) establish patterns of use over a one month period; and (iii) determine levels of satisfaction with this novel approach.
Interventions
The intervention consists of access to 'Memory Box' - an individualised multimedia interface device, which contains photographs, movies, family video messages, and music that is personally relevant to each individual. The participants will have access to Memory Box for 24 hours per day for a period of 4 weeks. They will receive weekly 30 minute training sessions to assist them in using the device, plus the research team will visit weekly to ensure the device is operating correctly and address an
The intervention consists of access to 'Memory Box' - an individualised multimedia interface device, which contains photographs, movies, family video messages, and music that is personally relevant to each individual. The participants will have access to Memory Box for 24 hours per day for a period of 4 weeks. They will receive weekly 30 minute training sessions to assist them in using the device, plus the research team will visit weekly to ensure the device is operating correctly and address any issues in using the device. Facility staff and visiting family members will also assist participants in using the device, with details about this assistance provided to the research team at the end of the intervention. Adherence to the intervention will be monitored using an automated log of usage of the device, which is built into the program. At the end of the intervention, the amount of time each participant has used each type of media will be extracted from the device. As this is an nonpharmacological intervention, no 'wash-out' period is required between the intervention and control conditions.
Sponsors
Dr Tanya Davison
Study design
Allocation
Randomised controlled trial
Intervention model
Crossover
Primary purpose
Treatment
Masking
Blinded (masking used) (Investigator, Outcomes Assessor)
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
All
Age
60 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
Permanent resident in an aged care facility Diagnosis of dementia Availability of a family member to assist in sourcing personalised media
Exclusion criteria
Acute medical illness that would be compromised by participation in the study. Severe dementia (MMSE < 10)
Outcome results
None listed