- Use of GuardIO, a Health Canada-licensed mobile application, and machine learning to describe mobility patterns of persons living with dementia
- Managing risks of going missing among persons living with dementia by building capacities of search and rescue personnel, first responders and communities
- Technologies for assessment and management of wayfinding risks for persons living with dementia in their communities
- Acceptance and reliability of digital (web-based) version of Alberta Rating Index for Apps (ARIA)
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Use of GuardIO, a Health Canada-licensed mobile application, and machine learning to describe mobility patterns of persons living with dementia
Funders: AGE-WELL & Canadian Frailty Network; J.W. Graham Trust
Co-principal investigators: Lili Liu (University of Waterloo) and Antonio Miguel-Cruz (Universities of Alberta and Waterloo)
Partners: WeTraq, CareLective, Alzheimer Society of Ontario, Alzheimer Society of Alberta and Northwest Territories, Kateri Memorial Hospital Centre
The goal of this project is to examine the acceptance and usability of GuardIO - Family Care, mobile application. It supports persons with cognitive impairment and their care partners to develop risk mitigation strategies through understanding the patterns of their mobility by leveraging a cloud-based platform licensed by Health Canada. This enables the care partners to receive care and support. This Health Canada licensed app is developed by WeTraq and available on app stores and SunLife Lumino Health marketplace. It combines GPS and WiFi to provide real-time location monitoring and safety alerts. It does not require an additional device other than one’s personal smartphone. We will use machine learning driven analytics to describe mobility patterns of participants with dementia and without dementia (care partners). This information can be used to identify changes in mobility to inform decisions about personalized care and support services. Increasing prevalence of dementia in Canada calls for strategies like GuardIO to address risks of going lost and going missing, while supporting the health and wellbeing of persons aging in place.
Managing risks of going missing among persons living with dementia by building capacities of search and rescue personnel, first responders, and communities
Funder: Public Saftey Canada
Principal investigator: Lili Liu (University of Waterloo)
Co-investigator: Antonio Miguel Cruz (University of Waterloo)
Partners: SAR-1, Alzheimer Society of Ontario, Alzheimer Society Southwest Partners, Dementia Network Calgary, Alzheimer Society of Saskatchewan, carya, Alzheimer Society of British Columbia, Dementia Advocacy Canada, interRAI, British Columbia Search and Rescue Association, BC Silver Alert, MedicAlert Foundation Canada
Public Safety Canada, through the Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SARNIF), is providing funding to the University of Waterloo for a three-year project entitled Managing risks of going missing among persons living with dementia by building capacities of search and rescue (SAR) personnel, first responders and communities.
The project will develop protocols for first responders in two Indigenous communities as part of their work in six provinces beyond Ontario.
- The Search and Rescue New Initiatives Fund (SARNIF) is designed to enhance the effectiveness, efficiency, economy, and innovation of search and rescue activities relating to the response and prevention objectives determined by Canada’s search and rescue community.
- The wandering of persons living with dementia and becoming lost is a significant concern among first responders and care partners. It is associated with injury, long-term care placement, and death.
- This SAR prevention project will build capacities, partnerships, and coordination of SAR personnel, first responders, and communities to manage risks of going missing among persons living with dementia.
The University of Waterloo is working with partners to implement and evaluate four initiatives under this project:
- A rapid response protocol for first responders in seven provinces. Two Indigenous communities within these provinces will be included. British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Ontario, Nova Scotia, two Indigenous communities (Manitoba, Quebec)
- Toolkits for communities
- A guideline for return home interviews to prevent missing incidents.
- Data collection approaches to monitor this issue
Technologies for assessment and management of wayfinding risks for persons living with dementia in their communities
Funder: AGE-WELL Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE)
Principal investigator: Lili Liu (University of Waterloo)
Other investigators: Antonio Miguel Cruz (University of Alberta), Alex Ferworn (Ryerson University)
It is commonly known that three out of five people living with dementia will wander. The consequences can vary and include minor injuries, high search and rescue costs. If not found within 24 hours, there is a high chance of injury or death. The purpose of this series of four studies is to examine the application of technologies for assessment and management of wayfinding risks among persons living with dementia in their communities. These studies are as follows:
- To quantify risks associated with vulnerable older adult getting lost due to impaired cognitive health and dementia. (Principal investigator: Lili Liu, University of Waterloo)
- To develop and validate a usability scale for technologies, specifically, locator devices. (Principal investigator: Antonio Miguel Cruz, University of Alberta)
- To create a national guideline and recommendations, on the consistent use of terminologies, and a balanced, ethical approach to collecting data that can inform stakeholders such as resource managers, policy developers, and public funders on evidence-based decisions. (Principal investigator: Lili Liu, University of Waterloo)
- To examine the benefits and challenges associated with the innovative use of drones in search and rescue of persons living with dementia and who get lost in non-urban spaces in the communities. (Principal investigator: Alex Ferworn, Ryerson University)
Impacts are seen through five products:
- A reliable and validated measure that predicts risks of going missing.
- A mobile app that uses the predicted risk levels to recommend a personalized strategy for people with dementia and their care partners to mitigate these risks.
- A brief scale to assess the usability of technologies used to locate a person who is missing.
- A national coordinated strategy for the collection of data on missing older adults to inform programs, product designs, and policies.
- An algorithm-informed search using unmanned aerial systems for finding missing or lost persons living with dementia.
Acceptance and reliability of digital (web-based) version of Alberta Rating Index for Apps (ARIA)
Funder: AGE-WELL NCE
Principal investigator: Lili Liu (University of Waterloo)
Co-investigator: Antonio Miguel Cruz (University of Waterloo, University of Alberta)
There are over 300,000 mobile apps for health. These apps can enhance self-management and access to health services, provide health information, and facilitate communication between patients and healthcare providers. However, not all mobile health apps have acceptable quality or are useful. Some may have inaccurate, inappropriate, or even harmful content. As the sale of apps is not regulated, there are minimal safeguards to protect users from apps with low quality or harmful content. Users of mobile apps for health who want to evaluate the quality of mobile health apps they download for a fee or for free, are limited to available reviews and ratings shared by other users. Such reviews may not be trustworthy; also, there is no association between user ratings and the clinical utility and usability of mobile health apps. To allow consumers to assess the quality of mobile health apps, we developed the Alberta Rating Index for Apps (ARIA). This index offers a way for users, including older adults, family caregivers, and health service providers, to evaluate the quality and usability of health apps based on nine quality criteria. We tested the reliability and validity (content and criterion) of the paper-based version of ARIA in English. In this proposed project, we will develop and examine the acceptance and reliability of a digital (web-based) version of the index in English and French, developed to expand the use of the ARIA. The digital ARIA calculates a composite rating score for each app and allows users to visualize areas of strength and weakness based on users’ ratings. We will use the ratings to create a crowd sourced repository of mobile health apps and share the summary of ratings with website visitors. The digital ARIA will be more accessible and practical than the paper-based version for users of mobile health apps.