KLASSEN, DANIEL L
MOAI TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
USA
Memory Matters: A Mobile Aid to Stimulate Reminiscing in Persons with Memory Loss
NIH (NIA)
1,271,073.39
01/08/2014
2
Alzheimer's disease & other dementias
Acquired Cognitive Impairment... Aging... Alzheimer's Disease... Alzheimer's Disease including Alzheimer's Disease Related Dementias (AD/ADRD)... Behavioral and Social Science... Brain Disorders... Caregiving Research... Clinical Research... Clinical Research - Extramural... Clinical Trials and Supportive Activities... Dementia... Mental Health... Neurodegenerative... Neurosciences... Palliative Care... Translational Research
? DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This Phase II SBIR project will augment and investigate a digital game that was designed and successfully tested during a Phase I trial in a long-term care facility. The game, called Memory Matters (MM), is designed to trigger reminiscing by persons with mild to moderate dementia-related memory loss, often caused by Alzheimer’s Disease, by immersing these individuals in game content reflecting the cultural and historical facets of their youth and early adulthood. The MM digital game brings together two key elements which are key to enhancing communication and interaction with people living with mild to moderate dementia; reminiscence triggers and game-playing. Game-embedded content, including pictures and music, serves as strong memory triggers, leading to a range of interaction and often a stream of memories spreading out from the initial topic. Playing games and having fun, helps relaxation and interaction, and avoids the stress of many cognitive activities, which put pressure on the person with dementia. Having a rich bank of memory triggers adds interest and takes the pressure off caregivers and family members to come up with ideas and prompts to engage in conversation from their own experience and knowledge. The game often opens up the possibility for the person living with dementia to `teach’ the caregiver or family member about something that is outside their experience, building esteem and a sense of purpose. Digital games offer a novel approach to promote improvements in mood, social interaction, cognitive stimulation, and quality of life for persons with dementia-related memory loss. This Phase II SBIR will evaluate the efficacy of MM in offering improvements in mood, social interaction, cognitive stimulation, and quality of life to persons with memory loss who will use th game over a 6-month period. Evaluation will be done using semi-structured interviews and participant observation data collected on 100 persons with mild to moderate dementia-related memory loss, their family caregivers, and professional care providers via an embedded randomized controlled evaluation.
PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: Memory loss is a significant problem for a growing number of Americans. An estimated 5.3 million Americans of all ages have Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) in 2015. This includes an estimated 5 million people age 65 and older. Longer life spans and aging baby boomers will cause this number increase dramatically in the years ahead. People with memory loss face considerable challenges including a decrease in their ability to communicate along with increased emotional distress. Caregivers and family also experience the negative impact of the relative’s inability to recollect and communicate and as a result also experience stress. The stress associated with care provision often negatively influences family members’ ability to provide care and support. For people with AD and other dementias, aggregate payments for health care, long-term care and hospice are projected to increase from $183 billion in 2011 to $1.1 trillion in 2050 (in 2011 dollars).