# Translating a Dementia Caregiver Intervention into a Mobile Application

> **NIH NIH R21** · RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL · 2020 · $188,595

## Abstract

Project Summary/Abstract
Caring for a person with dementia is a highly stressful activity and is associated with negative
physical and mental health consequences, including increased risk of depression and worse
reported health-related quality of life. Many psychosocial interventions for dementia caregivers
have been developed and shown to be efficacious for reducing burden and depression, but few
have been translated for community use, mainly due to poor accessibility. The goal of this
development project (NIH stage IA & IB) is to create a mobile health (mHealth) application (App)
for distressed family caregivers that combines the strengths of evidence-based telephone-
delivered caregiver and mind-body interventions. The project has two aims. In Aim 1, the
caregiver research team will collaborate with computer engineers to translate the interventions
into a mHealth App and conduct month-long open trial (beta testing) with 10 dementia
caregivers. We will carry out qualitative interviews with participants regarding technical and
content aspects of the App that will inform intervention modifications. In Aim 2, we will complete
a 3-month feasibility clinical trial, in which 40 dementia caregivers will be randomized to a
treatment condition that will receive computer tablets containing the newly developed App or a
control group that receives dementia caregiver-related internet links. Outcome measures
include caregiver depression, burden, reactions to behavior problems, desire to institutionalize,
and healthcare resource utilization. The primary goal of the study is to address feasibility and
accessibility of the intervention and control condition as well as collect data on recruitment and
retention, adherence, and satisfaction. At the completion of this project, we will have developed
a tailored, multicomponent, mHealth App to address caregiver burden, depression, and
healthcare utilization in a full-scale efficacy trial.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 9998830
- **Project number:** 5R21AG064410-02
- **Recipient organization:** RHODE ISLAND HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** GEOFFREY N TREMONT
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $188,595
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2019-09-01 → 2022-05-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/9998830

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 9998830, Translating a Dementia Caregiver Intervention into a Mobile Application (5R21AG064410-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/9998830. Licensed CC0.

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