Knowledge Representation for Complex Systems: Empowering Caregivers of People with Dementia

摘要

The frequency and severity of agitation episodes in dementia continue to impact quality of life and successful aging in place. Therapeutic interventions to reduce the severity and long term effects of agitation must be cost-effective and contextually valid. Continuous behavioral data on persons with dementia (PWD) could provide a means for caregivers and healthcare providers to use situated data to make decisions regarding interventions. We propose a socio-technical systems approach to identify contextual artifacts for knowledge representation to support decision-making regarding personalized interventions to prevent or minimize agitation. Knowledge representation serves as tools to help researchers develop monitoring and assessment systems to facilitate understanding of the lived environments of PWD. The goal is to increase effectiveness of caregiver empowerment aids and provider-caregiver partnerships to prevent and control agitation in dementia.