E-Technology for Chinese Dementia Caregivers

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): Family caregivers of older adults suffering from dementia are at increased risk for stress-related illnesses. This risk is especially true for Chinese-American caregivers, whose burden is exacerbated by a lack of linguistically appropriate information on dementia and its care management. The purpose of this SBIR is to develop a comprehensive, culturally competent, educational website in Phase I, and expand the website to include more interactive features in Phase II for Chinese-and English-speaking caregivers to improve their knowledge, skills, and psychological well being. We propose to use a family-system approach to educate all members of the caregiving family. Specific Phase I aims are to: 1) Develop a Chinese/English website with culturally competent content to improve knowledge of disease and care management, as well as within-family support for caregiving to older adults with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD); b) Evaluate the effectiveness of using the website, c) Disseminate the website to providers, aging service organizations, consumer groups, and Chinese-American organizations as an educational resource. Our Phase II goal is to turn the well-tested content of the website into an interactive website with both print and audio to allow peer support among caregivers using the web-site, and to broaden the participation of caregivers by disseminating the website globally to Chinese-speaking caregivers. Specific Phase II aims include developing, evaluating, and commercializing the website. This SBIR is a collaboration among Environment & Health Inc., a group devoted to aging-related training and technology development, and INVIVIA Inc., a technology-based digital design company, along with university-based experts on Alzheimer's disease and related dementia. Proposed Commercial Applications: With market potential of over 2.7 million Chinese-speaking people in the U.S. (about 2000 dementia cases) and over 444 million (about 2 million dementia cases) among Chinese-speaking people in Asia, the proposed Chinese/English website has promising commercial viability.