As the population continues to age & the incidence of ADRD increases, there will be more caregivers who will have to give up work, pay for more medical costs, and care for someone many hours a day. From worrying about the safety of a person with dementia to deciphering their symptoms and behaviors, caregiving can be a significant burden on individuals.

CareBand’s research project with community-dwelling older adults with dementia and their caregivers is focused on understanding caregiver burden to empower caregivers and care recipients.

Understanding and monitoring neuropsychiatric symptoms (e.g. agitation, depression, decreased engagement, apathy), which are reported to be worrisome, can help improve quality of life, treatment & care for individuals with ADRD.

Current research at CareBand probes how CareBand can be used to detect agitation, fall risk among other movement-related risks, lifespace, and engagement levels.

ADRD affects older adults of all identities in different communities & populations. There is a need to provide a solution that can help people from marginalized identities and underserved communities access & receive better ADRD care. Further, digital health solutions whose design take into account the sociocultural and environmental context of older adults in these areas are much-needed.

Research at CareBand investigates and utilizes different factors that impact one’s social, mental, and physical being to inform research project design and outcomes. Current research is being conducted in rural and remote areas in northern MN and IN and in Indigenous communities, all of which are areas that are traditionally underserved and underrepresented in dementia research. 

Tangentially, our pilot projects focused on improving population health outcomes through our line of contact-tracing and COVID-monitoring solutions also aim to address infrastructure and accessibility barriers.