# Daily Experiences and Well-being among  Caregivers for Older Adults Experiencing Lewy Body Dementia.

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN · 2024 · $792,683

## Abstract

Summary
There is a dire need for research addressing caregivers of persons with Lewy Body Dementias (LBD), the second
most common cause of dementia. LBD encompasses Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson’s Disease with
Dementia and accounts for 4 to 15% of dementia cases. Core symptoms of LBD present a distinct profile of
caregiving demands driving high stress: fluctuations in cognition, hallucinations, delusions, and behavioral sleep
disturbances (including acting out dreams). These are compounded by cognitive symptoms of AD and motor
symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, shared by LBD. Caregivers living with a spouse or romantic partner who has
LBD (N = 150 caregivers) will complete a baseline interview and Ecological Momentary Assessment surveys
(EMA; 5 minute surveys) every 3 hours for 4 days. The surveys involve reports of care recipient symptoms,
caregiving tasks and stress, self-efficacy, support and well-being. Caregivers will wear a Fitbit to measure
cardiovascular functions (heart rate) and sleep as indicators of stress reactivity. The care recipient will wear a
FitBit to assess agitation via physiological indicators (e.g., heart rate). Aim 1: Identify associations between care
recipient symptoms, caregiver tasks and stress throughout the day. The Caregiver Stress and Coping Model
addresses caregivers’ stress reactivity (associations between appraisal of stress and well-being). To intervene
effectively for LBD caregivers, we must ascertain which combinations of symptoms and caregiving tasks have
the greatest immediate and cumulative impact on caregiver stress throughout the day. Example hypothesis:
Caregivers will report greater stress when dealing with LBD symptoms than other caregiving demands. Aim 2:
Examine how caregiver stress is associated with mood and cardiovascular stress responses throughout the day.
The Stress Pile Up Model suggests that demands and stress may accumulate throughout the day generating
worse outcomes at the end of the day. Caregivers will sleep more poorly when they report more cumulative
caregiving demands, particularly symptoms unique to LBD. Aim 3: Investigate two possible resilience factors
(efficacy and social support) to buffer LBD care-related stressors on well-being. Based on Self Efficacy Theory,
during periods of the day when caregivers experience greater efficacy, they will appraise caregiving as less
stressful and experience better mood and cardiovascular functioning. LBD caregivers report greater difficulty
obtaining social support than caregivers for other dementias. Social support theories suggest that when
caregivers have respite or social support during the day, they will be less reactive to caregiving stress. LBD is
a highly challenging form of dementia with shared symptoms of other dementias, and unique core symptoms
(e.g., hallucinations, cognitive fluctuations) that may exacerbate caregiver stress. Studies of caregiver stress,
interventions, and services have largely used samples with AD and ot...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10884784
- **Project number:** 1R01AG087118-01
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN
- **Principal Investigator:** KAREN L FINGERMAN
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2024
- **Award amount:** $792,683
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2024-05-01 → 2029-02-28

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10884784

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10884784, Daily Experiences and Well-being among  Caregivers for Older Adults Experiencing Lewy Body Dementia. (1R01AG087118-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-27 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10884784. Licensed CC0.

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