Faculty Bibliography

CONTEXT/BACKGROUND:Evaluation of usability and mobile health content is critical for ensuring effective implementation of technology utilizing interventions tailored to the needs of hospice care providers for people living with dementia in community-based settings. OBJECTIVES/OBJECTIVE:To evaluate the usability, content, and "readiness to launch" of the Aliviado mobile health app for interdisciplinary team members participating in the Hospice Advanced Dementia Symptom Management and Quality of Life. METHODS:Usability of the Aliviado app was assessed in 86 respondents with an adapted IBM Computer Usability Satisfaction Questionnaire following Hospice Advanced Dementia Symptom Management and Quality of Life training and implementation of the mobile app. RESULTS:More than half of users receiving training employed the mobile app in practice. Users reported use as: Daily-6.3%, Weekly-39.6%, monthly-54.2%. The highest measured attributes were usefulness, value, and effectiveness. Over 90% deemed the app "ready to launch" with no or minimal problems. CONCLUSION/CONCLUSIONS:This study shows that a newly-developed mobile app is usable and can be successfully adopted for care of people living with dementia.

Background: Overlapping symptoms between delirium and behavioral and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD) often makes diagnosis of delirium superimposed on dementia (DSD) complex. This study aimed to examine differences in BPSD expression in PLWD with and without DSD at start of home healthcare (HHC) to help elucidate differences in expression.
Method(s): A cross-sectional analysis of baseline data from 107 PLWD (age 65+) enrolled into a semi-pragmatic, randomized controlled trial was performed. Baseline data were collected <=3 days of HHC admission. BPSD was measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory Questionnaire and delirium a modified 3-Mintue Diagnostic Interview for Confusion Assessment Method. Descriptive statistics and chi² or Fisher's exact tests were performed as appropriate to compare BPSD between groups.
Result(s): Of the 107 PLWD (mean age: 83 years; 61% female; 62% White; 14% Hispanic/Latino),19.6% had DSD; 93.5% had 1 BPSD; 79.4% had 3 BPSD. Of the 12 BPSD assessed, 10 were more prevalent in the DSD group: agitation, hallucinations, appetite changes, and delusions were >10% more prevalent; motor disturbance and nighttime behaviors were >20% more prevalent; motor disturbance was statistically significantly more prevalent (p=0.043). See Table 1.
Conclusion(s): Motor disturbance is statistically significantly more prevalent in DSD upon HHC admission; thus, if observed in PLWD, a follow-up DSD assessment may be warranted. Another 5 BPSD were >10%-20% more prevalent in DSD, though not statistically significant, the magnitude of the difference still suggests clinical importance