Project Overview
This project examines the challenges faced by informal caregivers of individuals with Alzheimer's and Dementia, focusing on the physical and emotional stress they endure. We design interventions that offer meaningful support to these caregivers.
Timeframe: 4 months
My Role: UX Researcher and Designer
Team: Juhi Khare, Inje Kang, Samarth Nagraj, Shreya Kohli
Methods: Literature Review Interviews, Personas, Affinity Mapping, Usability Testing
Disciplinary knowledge
Through a literature review and an expert interview with the Head of Alzheimer's and Dementia unit at Indiana University, we validated the problem and understood the intricacies of the disease. Our research revealed significant gaps in existing support systems and the alarming need to support informal caregivers of Alzheimer's patients.
“About 45% of caregivers die before the care recipients because they forget to take care of themselves.”
- Head of Alzheimer’s and Dementia unit, IUThis statement underscores the pressing need for supporting informal caregivers, highlighting the critical nature of the problems.
Understanding Users
We conducted six interviews with caregivers to understand their experiences and struggles. Our study revealed that caregiver well-being is closely linked to the quality of patient care, making it crucial to address patient needs first. To further this understanding, we performed a persona analysis of both caregivers and care recipients.
Informal Caregivers
The three main challenges faced by caregivers include:
Struggling to balance caregiving and work responsibilities
Worried about his changing relationship dynamic with his father with dementia
Difficulty in managing emotions and finding time for self-care
Care Recipients
The three main challenges faced by care recipients include:
Feeling like a burden on family members
Feeling frustrated and out of control of own actions
Getting triggered by changes in environment and losing control on themselves
Exploring the Challenge
Using affinity mapping, we synthesized all the collected data and pinpointed areas that require intervention to alleviate the stress of caregivers.
Themes generated through Affinity Mapping Exercise
Key Takeaways
Based on our research and analysis we identified key areas where a possible intervention could help caregivers. These include:
assisting informal caregivers with caregiving duties
helping informal caregivers balance their responsibilities with their personal lives
managing the changing relationship dynamic between the informal caregiver and the family member receiving care
Generating Concepts
Based on our identified areas we generated ideas using a combination of HMW and What Ifs. We came up with three possible ideas:
An app for community support
A smart watch worn by patient that is linked with an app for monitoring purposes
A home robot that could care for both caregiver and the patient
Initial sketches of some ideas, Crazy 8s
Finalizing Concept
While an app for community support and a smartwatch linked with an app for monitoring purposes can provide some benefits, they do not offer the same level of personalized care and emotional support that a social robot can provide.
Informal Caregivers need more than just assistance!
A social robot can provide comprehensive support to informal caregivers of Alzheimer's and dementia patients because it can offer emotional and social interaction, cognitive stimulation, and physical assistance to both the caregiver and the patient, addressing the key challenges faced by caregivers, including social isolation, mental and emotional strain, and managing the care of the patient.
Proposed Intervention: CareBit
CareBit is a social robot designed specifically to provide assistance and emotional support to informal caregivers of Alzheimer's and Dementia patients. It also provides a means for them to connect with others who have gone through similar experiences whenever required.
CareBit works in sync with a mobile app designed for the caregivers.
Creating Physical Form
We had extensive discussions on the form of the support robot during the design phase, considering various ideas such as:
Soft Toy Support Robot
“Alexa and google home can be be used to do several tasks like setting reminders but sometimes its voice without any face triggers my dad to think of it as an intruder.”
- Interviewee Quote
Although the soft fur and the potential to control its temperature for added comfort were attractive features, the voice of the toy had the potential to trigger patients and worsen their condition.
Sit on the Table Robot
“My cousin with Alzheimer’s would wander outside at night and would describe it as a dream. Even the door alarm did not solve the problem.”
- Interviewee Quote
Although capable of performing desired functionalities, this robot had limitations in accessibility for reaching patients and caregivers promptly. Additionally, its static design made it difficult to adequately monitor the patient.
Final Form: Social Home Robot
Prototype of CareBit in image on the left.
Our final prototype included physical features such as a camera, wheels, hands, screen, and a medicine dispenser that could cater to the needs of both, the patient and caregivers.
We found this to be the best suitable form because it can perform a wider range of functionalities, including monitoring the patient's condition, providing emotional support, dispensing medication, and assisting the caregiver with various tasks.
CareBit in Action
Here is a short video that showcases some of CareBit’s main features and how it provides a comprehensive support to informal caregivers.
Taking Care of Caregivers
Proactive Conversation Analyzer
CareBit's empathetic conversation feature listens to caregivers' problems and offers comforting words, tips, and tricks from its database. It helps improve caregivers' mental health by providing a therapeutic outlet.
Community Integration
CareBit's community integration feature facilitates social interactions between caregivers, creating a support system that fosters a sense of belonging and encourages sharing experiences and advice.
Protecting Caregiver-Patient Relationship
Cognitive Activities
Cognitive games prompt patients with photos from their past and questions to exercise their memory, protecting the relationship between caregivers and patients, and allowing caregivers to re-bond with their family members.
Communication Alert
Carebit's video call feature allows patients to connect with caregivers whenever needed. However, to ensure effective communication, the CareBit app alerts caregivers to slow down their speech and use gestures, avoiding any misunderstandings or frustration on either side.
Assisting Caregivers
Indoor Navigation
CareBit helps Alzheimer's patients navigate through their house when they forget the rooms, making them more independent and reducing the workload of caregivers.
Monitoring
CareBit's remote monitoring and fall detection feature enhances patient safety by alerting caregivers in the event of a fall. This provides peace of mind for both the patient and their loved ones.
Reminders
CareBit offers additional features like medication reminders for patients, ensuring that they take their medicine on time, and avoiding situations where the patient picks up their medicine and throws it away without taking it.
Shared Calendars
CareBit's shared calendar feature allows it to analyze the schedules of other family members and prompts caregivers to share responsibilities, providing them with some much-needed relaxation time.
Robot Display Screens
The screen UI designs are crafted to be exceptionally clean and simple, with clear buttons and CTAs, keeping in mind the special needs of Alzheimer’s patients to ensure a non-confusing, user-friendly experience.
App Screens
Testing Agenda
We divided our testing agenda into four main categories with a goal to test different aspects of our design.
Reflections
Designing for emotional needs as a challenge: The emotional aspect of this project involved addressing changing relationship dynamics and the issue of caregiver guilt when it comes to self-care. Achieving a balance between practical needs and emotional support for caregivers required careful collaboration and consideration among team members.
First time designing a robot: This project was the first time we had the experience designing a robot. The learning curve was steep, but the experience provided a valuable opportunity to explore new skills and approaches to problem-solving in the realm of healthcare robotics.
Collaborating with Team Members: Working in a team allowed us to combine our different skills and experiences to create a better design for CareBit. It was crucial to listen to each other's perspectives and ideas, and we learned to communicate effectively to reach common goals.