Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Gerontology
• Nursing
• Public Health

Background:

• Home care workers (HCWs) caring for immigrants with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) experience significant stress.
• Wearable technology measuring heart rate variability (HRV) offers potential for stress monitoring, but its feasibility and acceptability in HCWs are not well-established.
• Korean-American HCWs were studied as a representative ethnic minority group.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the feasibility and acceptability of using a wearable device (Ōura ring) for longitudinal stress monitoring in Korean-American HCWs.
• To evaluate recruitment, enrollment, and data completion rates.
• To measure the quality of heart rate variability (HRV) data and participant-reported ease of use and comfort.

Main Methods:

• Included Korean-American HCWs with at least six months of experience caring for Korean immigrants with ADRD.
• Participants wore Ōura rings for 21 consecutive days for data collection.
• Recruitment, enrollment, data completion, HRV data quality, and user experience (ease of use, comfort) were assessed.

Main Results:

• High invitation (74.07%) and consent (90.0%) rates were observed.
• 14 out of 15 participants completed the study, with 57.14% yielding valid HRV data for all 14 analysis days.
• Participants reported good ease of use (average score 4.21) and comfort (average score 3.86) with the Ōura ring.

Conclusions:

• The Ōura ring is feasible and acceptable for daily HRV monitoring among Korean-American HCWs caring for Korean immigrants with ADRD.
• Larger sample sizes are needed for further validation.
• Understanding HCW stress and needs is crucial for developing culturally tailored interventions.