Developing a Management Guide (the DemPower App) for Couples Where One Partner Has Dementia: Nonrandomized Feasibility Study.

Content Provider	Europe PMC
Author	Lasrado, Reena Bielsten, Therese Hann, Mark Schumm, James Reilly, Siobhan Theresa Davies, Linda Swarbrick, Caroline Dowlen, Robyn Keady, John Hellström, Ingrid
Editor	Eysenbach, Gunther
Copyright Year	2021
Abstract	BackgroundPromoting the health and well-being of couples where one partner has dementia is an overlooked area of care practice. Most postdiagnostic services currently lack a couple-centered approach and have a limited focus on the couple relationship. To help address this situation, we developed a tablet-based self-management guide (DemPower) focused on helping couples enhance their well-being and relationship quality.ObjectiveThe aim of this study is to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of the DemPower app.MethodsA nonrandomized feasibility design was used to evaluate the DemPower intervention over 3 months among couples where a partner had a diagnosis of dementia. The study recruited 25 couples in the United Kingdom and 19 couples in Sweden. Outcome measures were obtained at baseline and postintervention. The study process and interventions were evaluated at various stages.ResultsThe study was completed by 48% (21/44) of couples where one partner had dementia, of whom 86% (18/21) of couples accessed all parts of the DemPower app. Each couple spent an average of 8 hours (SD 3.35 hours) using the app during the study period. In total, 90% (19/21) of couples reported that all sections of DemPower were useful in addressing various aspects of daily life and helped to focus on how they interacted in their relationship. Of the 4 core subjects on which the DemPower app was structured, home and neighborhood received the highest number of visits. Couples used activity sections more often than the core subject pages. The perception of DemPower’s utility varied with each couple’s lived experience of dementia, geographic location, relationship dynamics, and opportunities for social interaction. A 5.2-point increase in the dementia quality of life score for people with dementia and a marginal increase in the Mutuality scale (+1.23 points) for caregiver spouses were found. Design and navigational challenges were reported in the DemPower app.ConclusionsThe findings suggest that the DemPower app is a useful resource for couples where one partner has dementia and that the implementation of the app requires the support of memory clinics to reach couples at early diagnosis.Trial RegistrationISRCTN Registry ISRCTN10122979; http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN10122979
Related Links	https://europepmc.org/backend/ptpmcrender.fcgi?accid=PMC8663680&blobtype=pdf
Journal	JMIR Aging
Volume Number	4
DOI	10.2196/16824
PubMed Central reference number	PMC8663680
Issue Number	4
PubMed reference number	34783666
e-ISSN	25617605
Language	English
Publisher	JMIR Publications
Publisher Date	2021-11-16
Publisher Place	Toronto, Canada
Access Restriction	Open
Rights License	This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work, first published in JMIR Aging, is properly cited. The complete bibliographic information, a link to the original publication on https://aging.jmir.org, as well as this copyright and license information must be included. ©Reena Lasrado, Therese Bielsten, Mark Hann, James Schumm, Siobhan Theresa Reilly, Linda Davies, Caroline Swarbrick, Robyn Dowlen, John Keady, Ingrid Hellström. Originally published in JMIR Aging (https://aging.jmir.org), 16.11.2021.
Subject Keyword	dementia guide self-management for couples with dementia dementia self-help dementia app dementia resource feasibility study nonrandomized study dementia intervention
Content Type	Text
Resource Type	Article
Subject	Geriatrics and Gerontology Health (social science) Health Informatics Gerontology