Description

Older adults have often been on the fringe of benefiting from technology. However, voice-controlled intelligent personal assistants (VIPAs; e.g. Google Home, Amazon Echo), with their natural interaction style and ease of use, are a simple interface technology that may be useful to older adults with depression and their caregivers in the home setting. Caregivers would be able to schedule and follow the interactions between the older adult and the VIPA. The VIPAs would potentially be able to provide functional, cognitive, and social stimulation as well as improve anti-depressant medication adherence through reminders to older adults.

The aim is to evaluate a VIPA that was designed to provide the caregiver with the skills and tools to deliver stimulation and medication reminders to homebound older adults with depression. The program model is based on a simplified behavioral activation program designed for administration by lay persons. Through user centered design (UCD), the investigators have adapted the model for remote delivery by a caregiver with the aid of VIPAs that provide psychoeducation, as well as features that support social, cognitive, and functional stimulation and reminders. The ability to deliver a caregiver-coordinated depression management program remotely, through an easy-to-use voice activated end-user interface, has the potential to deliver cost-effective care, easily implementable, to millions of homebound older adults, who currently are unable to access effective treatment.

The study duration will be 12 weeks. During those 12 weeks, participants will be able to use Amazon Echo Show 8 and the study's VIPA program to set goals, reminders, and the like to help with their mood. Participants will also be asked to completed associated assessments. Caregivers will be able to interact with a dashboard to see how their older adult participant is faring and also be asked to complete assessments.