Empowering Dementia Care Partners: A Digital Solution

Dementia is a growing concern globally. Care partners - often friends, family, or other community members - play a crucial role, supplementing existing formal health systems and providing essential care for people living with dementia. They often do so without formal dementia education and with limited support themselves, leaving many care partners unprepared, overwhelmed, and isolated. This is a challenge that Dr. Anthony Levinson, a psychiatrist, professor, and e-Learning researcher at McMaster University, is dedicated to addressing.

Dr. Levinson, known for his work in consultation liaison psychiatry (psychiatry for the medically ill, especially those with cognitive disorders like dementia), is a co-developer of online resources like igericare.ca and dementiarisk.ca, and a co-leader of the McMaster Optimal Aging Portal. His latest work, “Web-Based Education Program for Care Partners of People Living With Dementia (iGeriCare): Protocol for a Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial,” a research protocol describing a pilot randomized controlled trial of iGeriCare, was recently published in JMIR Research Protocols.

iGeriCare: Support at Your Fingertips

iGeriCare is a web-based education program designed specifically to empower care partners of people living with dementia with the knowledge and skills to support themselves and those they care for. This innovative work, made possible with support from McMaster's Division of e-Learning Innovation and a grant from the PSI Foundation, provides free online lessons on crucial topics such as:

• Understanding dementia
• Recognizing and responding to behavioral, emotional, and psychiatric changes
• Managing stress and maintaining well-being as a care partner
• Navigating care systems

These lessons are multimedia-rich, self-paced, and require no registration, making them highly accessible and convenient for busy care partners.

Piloting a Path to Broader Impact

In their pilot study, care partners have been randomly assigned to either the iGeriCare program or an alternative e-Learning lesson on brain health. The researchers are carefully evaluating the feasibility and acceptability of iGeriCare, as well as preliminary outcomes like changes in care partner dementia knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceived burden, using follow-up surveys after eight weeks.

The hope is that this pilot work will lay a strong foundation for a larger trial. Ultimately, the goal is to establish iGeriCare as a scalable, low-barrier tool that can effectively support dementia care partners not just across Canada, but around the world.

The choice to publish with JMIR Research Protocols reflects the team's commitment to sharing rigorous internet-based health research, especially protocols, and their dedication to open access, ensuring their valuable work is available to both researchers and the public.

Eager to learn more about how iGeriCare is empowering dementia care partners? Watch the video featuring Dr. Anthony Levinson, and read the full research article to understand the detailed protocol and the potential impact of this vital program.

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