LifeBio Memory Digital Reminiscence Platform

Benjamin Rose Institute on Aging

Status: Completed

Conditions: Cognitive Impairment; Dementia

Treatments: Other: LifeBio Memory

Study type: Interventional

Funder types: Other

Identifiers

NCT04769466

1908-216

Details and patient eligibility

About

Non-pharmacological interventions and person-centered care strategies are important elements of care for people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. Life story work, which uses written and oral life histories to elicit conversation and memories, is an effective intervention for individuals with dementia; however, because of the time-consuming nature of generating useful life story materials, has not been widely implemented in nursing homes and other care environments. LifeBio Inc. will develop an easy-to-use reminiscence therapy platform - LifeBio MemoryTM - with a novel machine-learning-based application that converts speech to text and generates life stories to serve as an interactive tool to cultivate communication between people living with dementia and their family and caregivers.

Full description

This project offers the unique and timely opportunity to evaluate the feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy of LifeBio Memory's effectiveness as a solution for improving quality of life and quality of care for older adults in long-term care settings, as well as relationships with staff caregivers. This project will implement the the newly developed LifeBio Memory platform and train caregivers in X sites across the state of Ohio, with X residents and X staff participating in a feasibility trial. The program will be evaluated using three waves of data collection from staff during training and throughout implementation, as well as pre-post resident data to evaluate the effectiveness of the new intervention.

The LifeBio Memory platform addresses the need for an intuitive, artificial intelligence-driven solution to the traditionally labor-intensive process of collecting, sharing, and celebrating the life stories of older adults, as well as the development of tools for staff caregivers to enhance person-centered care practices and care-planning. It has great potential for improving psychosocial outcomes for participants, enhancing relationships between care staff and residents, and a cost-effective way to identify ways in which life stories can be used to provide a foundation for preference-based, personalized care.

Residents will be interviewed at baseline, then again at follow-up (4 weeks later), staff members being trained to utilize the LifeBio Memory application and provide feedback on the materials, as well as completed a survey at baseline, again at follow-up

Enrollment: 160 patients

Sex: All

Ages: 18 to 112 years old

Volunteers: No Healthy Volunteers

Inclusion and exclusion criteria

Inclusion Criteria (Staff):

• Work within a residential care facility participating in the study
• Speak and read English
• Able to provide own transportation to and from interviews with residents

Inclusion Criteria (Residents

• Must reside within a participating residential care facility
• Must be at least 55 years of Age
• Must speak and read English
• Have a Dementia diagnosis
• Have a Score of at least 15 on the Mini Mental State Examination

Exclusion Criteria (Residents)

• Residents will be excluded from the study if they show signs of rapid cognitive decline or physical deterioration over the last 6 months, as evidence by information gained during screening.

Trial design

Primary purpose: Supportive Care

Allocation: Non-Randomized

Interventional model: Parallel Assignment

Masking: None (Open label)

---

160 participants in 2 patient groups

Staff

Experimental group

Description:

Staff will be trained in the platform, and complete life story interviews with residents at their facilities. Upon completion of training, staff will complete surveys regarding it's effectiveness and utility, and following the completion of the interview, the resident's life story books, summary materials, and staff tools will be delivered four weeks later. Life story materials are meant to assist staff in providing more personalized care and a mechanism for residents to feel more deeply understood.

Treatment:

Other: LifeBio Memory

Residents

Experimental group

Description:

Residents will be screened for their cognitive status and compete interviews with a researcher prior to participation in the life story interview. Residents will then be interviewed again at T3 about four weeks after the life story books, summaries, and staff materials have been delivered.

Treatment:

Other: LifeBio Memory