Remind Me To Remember: A pilot study of a novel smartphone reminder application for older adults with dementia and mild cognitive impairment

ABSTRACT

The SmartPrompt is a smartphone-based reminder application informed by a neuropsychological model of functional disability. This laboratory-based pilot study examined the SmartPrompt feasibility, efficacy, and subjective usability using a within-participant, counterbalanced, cross-over design. Ten participants (M age = 80.3 + 8.2; M education = 15.7 + 2.5; 60% female) with mild cognitive impairment or mild dementia completed the Remember to Drink Test, which required preparing a glass of water at four predetermined times, in a SmartPrompt (SP) and Unprompted condition (UP). Written cues and a clock were available in both conditions; however, in the SP, the smartphone presented auditory alarms and visual reminders to obtain the water at specified times and required photo logging. In a separate session, caregivers were trained and tested on configuring the SmartPrompt. Overall, caregivers and participants learned to effectively use the SmartPrompt. Caregivers achieved near-perfect scores on the configuration quiz and responded well to training. Participants completed significantly more Remember to Drink tasks in the SP (93%) than UP (56%); checking the cues/clock decreased by 87% in the SP. Usability ratings were excellent among caregivers and fair among participants. Results indicate that the SmartPrompt holds promise for reducing functional disability in older adults with cognitive difficulties in at-home contexts.

KEYWORDS:

• Smartphone
• Technology
• Cognitive aging
• Aging in place
• Functional disability

Acknowledgements

This project was supported by the National Institute on Aging (Grants R21AG060422, R01AG062503, R21AG066771 to TG). A portion of the study was presented at the 2020 North American meeting of the International Neuropsychological Society.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 The term efficacy is used as recommended in the clinical trial literature, where efficacy refers to testing the result of an intervention under ideal circumstances (i.e., laboratory setting), whereas effectiveness refers to testing in the “real world” (Gartlehner et al., 2006). However, our use of the term “efficacy” is consistent with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) definition of “effectiveness,” which refers to the accuracy, completeness and lack of negative consequences with which users achieved the specified goals of a device or technology (Bevan et al., 2016).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the National Institute on Aging [grant number R01AG062503, R21AG060422, R21AG066771].