# Intra-Individual Dynamics of Stress and Health Among Informal Dementia Caregivers

> **NIH NIH K01** · OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY · 2022 · $119,321

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY
The essential and costly care provided by informal caregivers to persons with Alzheimer’s disease and related
dementias (PWDs) continues to increase, often to the detriment of the informal caregiver’s physical and mental
health. A major obstacle to developing new therapies and tools to support informal caregivers is the lack of
objectively-measured evidence for which specific stressors are most important to target, and under what
conditions. Addressing this critical unmet need, through the proposed research and mentored training of the
applicant, is the overall goal of this project. The Life Laboratory Home Assessment Platform (Life Lab) is a
paradigm shift toward studying the behaviors and patterns of change among individuals using objective,
ecologically-valid measurement in real time (pervasive computing, sensors, and other technologies within
participants own homes). The Life Lab is part of the Oregon Center for Aging and Technology, both under the
direction of Dr. Kaye (proposed primary mentor), who is currently deploying the platform in homes of older adults,
a portion of whom have early-stage dementia. The scientific goals of this proposal are to isolate specific,
objectively-measured stressors; model the intra-individual dynamics between objective stressors and subjective
burden (i.e. volatility of stress exposure and reactivity) along the trajectory of caring for a PWD; and determine
the impact of these dynamics upon the physical and mental health of informal caregivers, and the success of
aging in place among PWDs. Intensive longitudinal data (daily and weekly assessments for up to 18 months)
from 120 informal caregivers of PWDs from Life Lab projects will be used to characterize the intensity and
volatility of individual caregivers’ exposure to objectively-measured daily stressors, and the intra-individual
dynamics between stress and burden. Additional data on the physical and mental health of informal caregivers
will also be collected and analyzed as a part of this ancillary study. The applicant will gain a new set of skills in
order to conduct the proposed study and prepare for an independent research career by training in: (1) Life Lab
design and technologies; (2) methods for analyzing intensive longitudinal data and intra-individual variability; (3)
identifying digital biomarkers of caregiver stress that will be relevant for use in a technological intervention. The
proposed team of mentors and consultant each provide expertise in one or more of these areas and are together
committed to collaboratively facilitating the candidate’s training. The detailed training plan includes multi-modal
learning (e.g. research immersions, one-on-one analytic training, formal coursework and seminars, and national
scientific meetings). The candidate will apply these new skills to the proposed research project and obtain
R21/R01 support in order to detect informal dementia caregivers’ stress through digital biomarkers and create
just-i...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10348709
- **Project number:** 5K01AG059839-04
- **Recipient organization:** OREGON HEALTH & SCIENCE UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** Lyndsey Medora Anderson
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $119,321
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-05-01 → 2023-08-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10348709

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10348709, Intra-Individual Dynamics of Stress and Health Among Informal Dementia Caregivers (5K01AG059839-04). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10348709. Licensed CC0.

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