Improving the Quality of Dementia Care Through Innovative Redesign of the Memory Care Environment

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Research study is being done to demonstrate novel opportunities to transform the way the dementia community is cared for.

Official Title
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Memory Care of the Future: Improving the Quality of Dementia Care Through Innovative Redesign of the Memory Care Environment

Conditions
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Dementia

Intervention / Treatment
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* Other: Retro-fitted room with technological enhancements


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: Patients currently residing at Arbor Terrace memory care unit Patients diagnosed with dementia Exclusion Criteria: Hospice patients with less than 30 days of life expectancy at the time of enrollment

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 65 Years
Maximum Age: 100 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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No

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention Group<br>Subjects with dementia will be living in a retro-fitted room with technological enhancements for a 12 month period. | Other: Retro-fitted room with technological enhancements<br>* Reconstructing and retrofitting a currently existing memory care room at Samaritan Bethany Arbor Terrace Senior Living with integrated technologies specifically to accommodate the needs of persons with dementia to enhance sensory stimulation in sight, sound and sleep.<br>|
| No Intervention: Standard of Care Group<br> | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in quality of life, as measured by the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's disease (QOL-AD) | Measured using the self-reported QOL-AD questionnaire comprised of 13 questions with a scale of poor = 1, fair = 2, good = 3, excellent =4. Scores range from 13 to 52, with higher scored indicating better quality of life. | every 2 weeks for up to one year | 
| Change in sleep quality, as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) | Measured using the self-reported PSQI that uses 9 questions regarding sleep quality to determine a final score where a total of 5 or greater is indicative of poor sleep quality. | every 2 weeks for up to one year | 
| Change in dementia related behaviors and delirium, as measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q) | Measured using the self-reported NPI-Q questionnaire that reports Yes = present or No = absent on 12 domains. If yes, then the informant rates the severity of the symptoms on a 3-point scale (1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe) and the distress of the symptoms on a 5-point scale (0 = not distressing at all, 1 = minimal, 2 = mild, 3 = moderate, 4 = severe, 5 = extreme or very severe). | every 2 weeks for up to one year | 
| Change in mood, as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9) | Measured using the self-reported PHQ-9 questionnaire that uses 9 question regarding patient health with a sale of not at all = 0, several days = 1, more than half the days = 2, nearly everyday =3. Scores range from 0 to 27, with higher scored indicating grater severity of depression. | every 2 weeks for up to one year | 
| Change in function and independence, as measured by the Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily living (KATZ) | Measured using the self-reported KATZ questionnaire with a scale of independence = 1 and dependence = 0 to determine total score. The KATZ ranges from 0 to 6 with the lower score indicated patient is very dependent and the higher score indicated patient is independent. | every 2 weeks for up to one year | 
| Change in medication use | Measured using recorded medication use from patient's chart. | every 2 weeks for up to one year | 
| Change in falls | Measured using recorded fall data from patient's chart. | monthly for up to one year | 

Secondary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Change in caregiver burden, as measured by the Caregiver Strain Index (CSI) | Measured using the self-reported CSI questionnaire with a scale of Yes=1 and No=0. Total score of 7 or higher indicates a high level of stress. | 6 months |