Alzheimer Disease
Conditions
Keywords
Apathy, Robotics, Virtual Reality
Brief summary
The objective of this study is to demonstrate the impact of a socially assistive robot system on reducing apathy among cognitively impaired older adults residing in long term care facilities. Earlier phases of this project demonstrated the feasibility and acceptability of the robotic system. First, investigators will improve the social robotic interaction architecture through additional software development, enhance its versatility, and make it easy for non-experts to run. Second, 188 participants will be randomized to either usual activity programs at the long term care facility, or the usual activity programs plus the robotic activities. Researchers will examine the effect on apathy and also plan on examining underlying individual and facility factors that influence the impact of the robotic activities.
Interventions
BEHAVIORALSocially Assistive Robot Activity
Participants will attend two weekly sessions with robot activities. Each session will last 30 minutes. Participants will attend robot sessions for 8 weeks.
Sponsors
Vanderbilt University
National Institute on Aging (NIA)
Study design
Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Intervention model
PARALLEL
Primary purpose
TREATMENT
Masking
SINGLE (Outcomes Assessor)
Masking description
Trained research assistants separate from other research personnel will collect outcomes; these research personnel will be blinded to the hypotheses and group assignments.
Intervention model description
Participants will be randomized to either Usual Activity Program or Usual Activity Program + Robot Activity within each long term care facility. At each site, the order of the robot type (humanoid or dog) will be randomized. Each participant will participate in two sessions/week for 8 weeks (4 weeks with humanoid robot, 4 weeks with dog robot).
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
60 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No
Inclusion criteria
* Residing \>3 months in long term care facility * Evidence of mild cognitive impairment (SAGE score 15-16), mild dementia (SAGE score \<15, AD8\<2, DSRD\<19), or moderate dementia (SAGE \<15, AD8\>1, DSRD 19-36) * Symptoms of apathy (Score 30+ on AES-C)
Exclusion criteria
* Severe cognitive impairment * Physically unable to participate * Unable to provide assent * Uncorrected vision or hearing * Never spoke English * Unable to sit comfortably in chair * Acutely ill, terminally ill or unresponsive * Unable to be moved to activity location * Aggressive or combative
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Apathy | Baseline to Week 8 | Apathy Evaluation Scale - Clinician (AES-C) will be used to assess changes in composite apathy score from baseline, Week 4, and Week 8. The AES-C is a validated 18-item instrument used to assess cognitive, behavioral, emotional and other symptoms of apathy. Clinicians rate each item based on verbal and nonverbal information provided by the participant. Item scores range from 1 (not at all characteristic) to 4 (a lot characteristic). Total scores range from 18 to 72 where higher derived scores indicate greater apathy. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Change in Trail Making Test (TMT) | Baseline to Week 8 | The TMT is a well established test of executive function and has two forms. TMT-A consists of a series of numbers in circles displayed randomly on a page; the person links the numbers in sequence. TMT-B consists of numbers (1 to 13) and letters (A to L) inside circles randomly placed on a page; the person alternates in connecting ascending numbers with ascending letters. TMT is scored by time in seconds to complete, up to 5 minutes. TMT-A normal time is 29 seconds and deficient score is \>78 seconds. TMT-B average score is 75 seconds and deficient score \> 273 seconds. |
| Change in Animal Fluency Test | Baseline to Week 8 | Verbal fluency tests require verbal ability and executive control processes; the Animal Naming test requires naming 15 animals in 1 minute; thus, less than 15 animals named in 1 minute is considered a deficient score. |
Countries
United States
Outcome results
None listed