Feasibility of a pocket-PC based cognitive control intervention in dementia spousal caregivers

Abstract

Objectives: Spousal caregivers of patients with dementia are in need of interventions to bolster their quality of life. Computer-based, self-administered cognitive training is an innovative approach to target spousal caregiver distress and coping. We tested the feasibility of administering one such intervention with minimal clinician intervention.

Methods: Twenty-seven elderly adults (>64 years old), who each were the primary caregiver for a spouse with dementia, were recruited through the Memory Disorders Clinic of the Alzheimer Disease Research Center in Pittsburgh, PA. Spousal caregivers were instructed to use a handheld computer version of the Adaptive Paced Visual Serial Attention Task (APVSAT) at least three times per week for four weeks as part of a larger caregiver intervention trial (P01 AG020677). Feasibility was explored by examining the frequency of APVSAT usage.

Results: Results suggest that self-directed cognitive training is feasible for spousal caregivers of dementia patients. The mean usage of the APVSAT was 42 (SD = 28.58). Performance increased from the beginning to the end of the trial, and usage was not affected by stress, worry, or poor sleep quality.

Conclusion: Findings suggest the potential utility of cognitive training via handheld computer for spousal caregivers of dementia patients to improve problem solving, coping and adaptation, planning, and persevering with goal-directed tasks.

Keywords:

• dementia spousal caregivers
• neurobehavioral intervention
• cognitive control training
• handheld computer intervention

Acknowledgements

The project described was supported by award number KL2TR000146 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences and P01 AG020677 (NCT00178568) from the National Institute on Aging (PI: M. Hall), and K01 MH01554 from the National Institute of Mental Health (PI: M. Hall).The authors are grateful to the staff of the age wise study for the assistance with data collection and APVSAT training. In particular, we would like to thank Annette Wood for her frequent help with fielding questions and compiling the data-sets for analysis. Additionally, the authors would like to thank James Moorehead for all of the administrative help he provided to prepare this manuscript for submission.

Disclosure statement

The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences or the National Institutes of Health.

Additional information

Funding

National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences [grant number KL2TR000146]; National Institute on Aging (PI: M. Hall) [grant number P01 AG020677 (NCT00178568)]; National Institute of Mental Health (PI: M. Hall) [grant number K01 MH01554].