A Data Framework to Understand the Lived Context for Dementia Caregiver Empowerment

摘要

Agitation in dementia patients is characterized by several features, such as physical and verbally aggressive and non-aggressive behaviors. Such behaviors affect not only the patients, but also their caregivers' quality of life. The onset of agitated behaviors can be unpredictable and can also be influenced by environmental factors, which introduce challenges to caregivers when caring people with dementia (PWD). The purpose of this study is to analyze multiple forms of qualitative and quantitative data obtained through behavioral and environmental sensors. Data about body gestures, activity and task sequences, ambient light, sound and temperature will be obtained. Caregiver logs and medical history from nurses and psychiatrists are the sources of qualitative data. Data framework will be used to collect, structure, extract, analyze, interpret and integrate various formats and large amount of data. This approach helps to conceptualize the lived context of PWD. The information discovered will be used to generate trained models to identify the patterns of agitation associated with the environmental factors. It will also be used to develop a monitoring and dashboard system so caregivers and healthcare providers can understand and avoid environmental triggers. The research outcome will provide cost effective technology to reduce or prevent agitation in dementia.