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In-Home Assistive Technology May Help Protect Dementia Caregivers from Declining Sleep Efficiency: A Randomized
Julian A Scheffer1,2, Darius T Levan1, Jenna L Wells3
1Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, California, USA.
Objectives:
Caregivers for people with dementia (PWDs) often experience sleep problems due to stressors associated with their role (e.g. concern about PWDs' nighttime wandering). We investigated whether a technology system, People Power Caregiver (PPCg), that helps monitor the caregiver's home would benefit caregivers' sleep.
Methods:
Primary caregivers of PWDs (Study 1: N = 70, Age M = 64.54, SD = 11.82, range = 35-84; Study 2: N = 92, Age M = 62.73, SD = 11.10, range = 32-89) were assigned to a fully activated PPCg condition or control condition (Study 1: partially active PPCg; Study 2: waitlist control). Caregivers completed the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index at baseline, three-months, and six-months.
Results:
Caregivers in the control conditions reported significantly worsening sleep efficiency whereas in comparison, those in the active conditions reported improving sleep efficiency.
Conclusions:
Given how critical sleep is both for caregivers' health and the care they provide, these findings underscore potential benefits of in-home technologies for protecting caregivers' sleep.
Clinical Implications:
Technology-based interventions that help monitor the home may support caregivers' sleep. Protecting caregivers' sleep may also preserve their ability to provide high-quality care as their loved one's disease and associated functional decline progresses.
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