$4 Million National Institute on Aging Grant to Drexel Will Test Platform Aimed at Helping Caregivers Manage Dementia Symptoms

The U.S. National Institute on Aging has awarded a nearly $4 million grant to Drexel University Professor Laura N. Gitlin and the University of California's Helen Kales to study the impact of the online WeCareAdvisor platform on caregivers of people with dementia, reports Drexel Now . WeCareAdvisor offers users education about dementia, daily tips for managing stress, and a systematic scheme for describing, investigating, creating, and evaluating strategies. "Family caregivers are rarely informed about behavioral and psychological symptoms nor do they have opportunities to learn about specific proven nonpharmacological strategies that can prevent, reduce and/or manage these symptoms," Gitlin noted. She and Kales, along with Johns Hopkins University Professor Constantine George Lyketsos, developed WeCareAdvisor to tailor caregivers' strategies to match the presentation of behavioral symptoms of the individual with dementia they are responsible for. The study will assess the platform's ability to reduce behavioral symptoms and caregiver distress and confidence managing behavioral symptoms, as well as ascertain the types of prompts caregivers find most helpful to successfully use the tool.