# Helping the helpers: User-centered technology to aid caregiver management of medications for people with ADRD

> **NIH NIH R21** · UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON · 2021 · $148,650

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
A majority of the nearly 6 million people living with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) in the
US are reliant upon informal (family and friend) caregivers to help manage their medications. Comorbidities are
highly prevalent in people with ADRD, often requiring the management of multiple simultaneous medications
and complex medication regimens. Caregivers are often untrained, under-resourced, and unsupported to
perform the medication tasks people with ADRD rely upon. Studies have reported that caregiver-assisted
medication management is associated with caregiver burden and stress and potentially inappropriate
medication use in a third of people with ADRD. Unfortunately, most caregiver support interventions do not
address ADRD caregivers' roles in managing medications for people with ADRD. Moreover, the few
interventions for ADRD caregivers addressing medications do not leverage information technology (IT), despite
national recognition of IT's vital role in ADRD care and caregiving. To address this gap, the intent of the
proposed project is to develop an IT-based intervention to support caregivers managing medications for people
with ADRD. According to the NIH Stage Model, behavioral interventions including IT solutions must be built
upon a solid empirical record. Therefore, we propose to employ the three phases of user-centered design to
address the first two stages of the NIH Stage Model. First, we will use a combination of user-centered design
methods to conduct a user needs assessment (Stage 0) of ADRD caregivers who manage medications for
people with ADRD. Second, we will use participatory co-design (Stage IA) to co-design a prototype IT
intervention to support caregiver-assisted medication management collaboratively with ADRD caregivers.
Third, we will conduct user testing (Stage IB) to feasibility test the prototype IT intervention with ADRD
caregivers. User-centered design is the gold standard (e.g., FDA-mandated for all medical devices) process for
designing products by involving representatives of the end-user population to better address user needs.
Completion of the aims will lead to a hybrid efficacy/effectiveness Stage 3 randomized clinical trial of the
intervention, powered to test changes in medication adherence and safety, with secondary outcomes of
neuropsychiatric symptoms, acute care utilization, and caregiver burden.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10211697
- **Project number:** 1R21AG072418-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN-MADISON
- **Principal Investigator:** Richard J Holden
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $148,650
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2021-06-01 → 2022-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10211697

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10211697, Helping the helpers: User-centered technology to aid caregiver management of medications for people with ADRD (1R21AG072418-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10211697. Licensed CC0.

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