A local company, CareVirtue, recently received funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to research a web and mobile app that they’ve created for dementia care partners, and they’re looking for people to sign up. This is a worthy effort that Alzheimer’s San Diego is proud to support.

The purpose of the study is to determine whether a web and mobile app to support caregiving for a person with dementia is useful and acceptable for caregivers – and whether they can create an intelligent caregiver assistant that would potentially make the app more useful for caregivers. This project is titled “Feasibility of CareVirtue, a Web and Mobile App to Support Informal Caregivers of People with Dementia” and is directed by Dr. Nicole Werner in the Department of Industrial and Systems Engineering, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

The study requires you to use a web and mobile app (can be accessed through any internet browser) designed to support caregivers of people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias for 60 days, and to answer questions about your experience using the app during and after your time using the app. If you agree to participate, you will be compensated $150 and will be able to use the app without cost for one year. At the end of one year, you will be able to opt in to the paid version of CareVirtue.

To be eligible for this study, you need to:

  • Be the primary caregiver for a person with dementia
  • Live with or near the person with dementia
  • Have daily access to the internet
  • Be over the age of 18
  • Share caregiving information with at least one other caregiver (such as a family member or friend)

If you are interested in participating or to learn more, please contact Dr. Werner at 608-890-2578 or email at wernerlab@engr.wisc.edu. Your call will not obligate you to take part in the caregiving study. Your participation is completely voluntary, and you can change your mind at any time.