# Developing a Personalized and Culturally Responsive Virtual Coach to Engage Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias in Cognitive and Physical Activities

> **NIH NIH R43** · BEAVER HEALTH, INC. · 2023 · $499,952

## Abstract

Project Summary
The number of Americans living with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD) is estimated to
double to 13.8 million people by 2050, with minoritized individuals affected disproportionately. Cognitive,
physical, and social activities can improve quality of life, cognition, and behavioral and psychological
symptoms of dementia (BPSD), but access, engagement, and adherence are challenging. ADRD specialists
are expensive and inaccessible for daily support, especially for persons living with dementia (PL WD) from
minoritized backgrounds who cannot find culturally competent providers. Support groups do not provide
scalable, individualized, evidence-based skills or daily guidance, and caregivers are already overburdened
assisting with activities of daily living. Commercial solutions to support PLWD are not culturally responsive or
scalable for daily, affordable use. There is an increasingly unmet need for culturally relevant, accessible, and
scalable ADRD care. We are developing a personalized and culturally responsive virtual coaching platform to
engage and support PLWD in evidence-based cognitive and physical activities in order to enhance health and
well-being. Our novel technology leverages advances in Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language
Processing (NLP) to facilitate activities from peer-reviewed interventions at lower costs. In each session, an
avatar is used to guide and support the PLWD through evidence-based cognitive and physical activities. To
engage PLWD, our NLP-based system adapts the coach’s dialogue based on input shared by the PLWD and
their family on key aspects of the PLWD's life history and culture (e.g., favorite holidays, music genres, foods).
The avatar coach also has characteristics tailored to the PLWD’s preferences (e.g., race/ethnicity, gender,
age) and offers social support to encourage adherence with check-ins, praise, and motivational words. Our
user interface is designed for PLWD to easily speak to and see their personal virtual coach on a large-screen
device with a microphone and camera (e.g., iPad, computer). In Phase 1, we will develop a personalized and
culturally responsive virtual coach prototype that delivers evidence-based cognitive and physical activities and
test initial usability/feasibility for racially and ethnically diverse persons with mild ADRD and their caregivers.
By digitizing activities and increasing personal and cultural relevance, the coaching platform will support PLWD
and their caregivers by improving access, engagement, and adherence to evidence-based interventions to
enhance health and well-being.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10699847
- **Project number:** 1R43AG082546-01
- **Recipient organization:** BEAVER HEALTH, INC.
- **Principal Investigator:** Emily S. Wang
- **Activity code:** R43 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2023
- **Award amount:** $499,952
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2023-05-15 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10699847

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10699847, Developing a Personalized and Culturally Responsive Virtual Coach to Engage Persons with Alzheimer's Disease and Related Dementias in Cognitive and Physical Activities (1R43AG082546-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-29 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10699847. Licensed CC0.

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