Developing an adaptive system for supporting personal activities and reinforcing cognition (SPARC)
W. A. Rogers, S. J. Czaja, W. R. Boot, N. Charness
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AbstractCognitive impairment is the single most important factor that threatens the function and quality of life of older adults [Stern & Carstensen, 2000]. The likelihood of developing a cognitive impairment increases with age; about 10% of those age 70-74 and 25% of those age 80-84 develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a heterogeneous state between normal aging and early dementia [Petersen et al., 2018]. Older adults with mild cognitive impairment (OAwMCI) experience difficulties performing a range of everyday activities and are at risk for social isolation. Technology-based interventions have the potential to improve the everyday functioning of OAwMCI. Most prior efforts have focused on the provision of cognitive training or rehabilitation and have not included other aspects of functioning such as everyday activities or social engagement. Our goal is to develop and evaluate an innovative intelligent adaptive software package aimed at providing cognitive and social support and engagement to OAwMCI. The system will be designed to adapt to the needs and abilities of the user, following the CREATE model of user-centered design [Boot et al., 2020; Czaja et al., 2019]. We will present the initial work from our user-centered approach to design the system we are calling SPARC: Supporting Personal Activities and Reinforcing Cognition.Keywords: adaptive technology, cognitive support, social engagement, needs assessment
W. A. Rogers, S. J. Czaja, W. R. Boot, N. Charness (2024). Developing an adaptive system for supporting personal activities and reinforcing cognition (SPARC). Gerontechnology, 23(2), 2-2
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2024.23.s.905.2.sp