App show promise in supporting assisted living resident cognitive health
MELBOURNE: Mobile health technology is emerging as a promising tool for supporting assisted living residents’ cognitive health and psychological well-being, a new study shows. That’s important, given government data that 44% of assisted living residents have a diagnosis of dementia.
The study, published in BMC Geriatrics by researchers from the University of Utah and Texas A&M University, details a pilot study of 10 residents across two Midwest assisted living communities. The communities evaluated the Silvia program, a multidomain mobile application designed to promote cognitive health, physical activity and lifestyle management for older adults at high risk for dementia.
The study results highlight opportunities for improving cognitive engagement, psychological well-being and healthy behaviors, according to the researchers. They also serve as a reality check for operators that successful digital adoption goes beyond using high-tech tools. Success, according to the authors, will rely heavily on taking a strategic approach to technology implementation, including tailored support for residents, and addressing common barriers to use, such as technology anxiety.
Six domains
The Silvia app has six domains: cognitive training, home-based exercise programs, mindfulness and relaxation activities, a daily diary feature, health-related educational content, and counseling. Study participants used the app twice a week for 12 weeks in 40- to 50-minute sessions.
All participating residents said their cognitive function improved in several ways — namely, calculation, attention and memory — and that those improvements resulted in a boosted sense of enjoyment, accomplishment and feelings of relaxation and reward.
The lifestyle management components in the app also helped users track their health behaviors, including sleep patterns, dietary habits and physical activities. Those tracking activities, and the feedback they provided to participants, enhanced awareness of their daily health patterns and led to perceived improvements in their ability to manage health-related behaviors, the investigators said.
Two main challenges
In addition to the positive outcomes, the residents identified two main challenges with using the app: technology anxiety and challenging content. The researchers said that those challenges could be meaningful barriers for older adults living with mild cognitive impairment.
To sustain resident motivation and engagement with the activities, it is important to provide tangible and meaningful findings at the end of each activity, according to the researchers. Tailored digital literacy training that matches the cognitive and sensory capabilities of assisted living residents will be critical in ensuring implementation of the program on a sustainable basis, the authors said.
Future researchers should consider refining the program and adjusting implementation, they suggested.