The Personal Health Record for Persons with Dementia and Their Family Caregivers

University Of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract The objective of the proposed project is to test the feasibility of a free online care coordination tool for family caregivers of persons with Alzheimer's disease or a related dementia (ADRD). [Specifically, this proposal uses a multi-phase mixed methods design (QUAN+QUAL¿QUAL) to: 1) test the Personal Health Record for Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias and Their Family Caregivers (PHR- ADRD)'s feasibility] on a sample of 50 ADRD caregivers; 2) conduct a longitudinal, descriptive analysis of change in self-efficacy, primary care provider interactions, and subjective stress over a 1-year period; and 3) purposively sample 20 caregivers from the sample who indicate the greatest positive empirical changes (n = 10) and negative changes (n = 10) in self-efficacy, primary care provider interactions, and subjective stress over 12 months to conduct semi-structured interviews that determine how and why PHR-ADRD use was helpful or not in enhancing these outcomes.] It is anticipated that the PHR-ADRD (which relies on the Microsoft Health Vault platform) will provide a powerful care coordination tool that has heretofore not received attention as a clinical option for ADRD caregivers. [Such findings will facilitate the development of a treatment manual and provide a strong foundation for a multi-year initiative to evaluate the efficacy of the PHR- ADRD across multiple states and regions in the United States.]