Clinical Trial: Smart-device Apps as Memory Aids

Study Status: Not yet recruiting
Recruit Status: Not yet recruiting
Study Type: Observational

Official Title: Smart-device Apps as Memory Aids

Brief Summary: Patients experience problems with their memories from a variety of causes. There has been much work showing that the use of low tech devices, such as notebooks or diaries, can help patients remain independent. More recently, the use of electronic devices, such as digital voice recorders or pagers, has proved equally beneficial. Many of functions of memory aids could potentially be carried out by a smartphone or tablet using inbuilt functions such as a calendar or maps, as well as through downloadable apps, such as medication reminders. The investigators have surveyed the investigators patients to show that many of them already own smartphones and this number has dramatically increased in the last year. This project aims to investigate the feasibility and efficacy of using smartphone and tablet apps as memory aids in a clinical setting.

Detailed Summary:

Purpose and design

This study will trial the use of smartphones and apps as memory aids with patients who have memory problems. There have been some case study reports in the literature but the investigators would like to use this study to investigate how feasible it is to offer these kinds of support within an NHS memory aids service.

Recruitment

Patients (and their relatives/carers, where relevant)will be recruited from those already referred to the Memory Aids Service run within the Neuropsychiatry and Memory Disorders Clinic at St Thomas's Hospital, within the South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust. It is made clear in the Participant Information Sheet (one for patients and one for relatives/carers) that participation is voluntary and if patients do not want to take part, they will still receive personalised help and advice in the Memory Aids Service.

Inclusion/Exclusion

This project will be offered to patients who own their own smartphone; the project is unable to support costs of buying smartphones for patients and paying for any data usage. Patients who do not have smartphones will still receive memory aids support, but instead will receive help as is standardly given using other memory aids.Patients will be excluded if they do not have adequate levels of English or motor skills to use the apps.

Consent

Patients will be identified as possible participants during their routine memory aids assessment clinic visit by a member of the clinical care team. Only those with capacity to consent will be invited to take part. Those interested in taking part will be given a p
Sponsor: King's College London

Current Primary Outcome:

  • Prospective and Retrospective Memory Questionnaire PRMQ [ Time Frame: End of intervention, on average 2 months ]
    Subjective memory questionnaire
  • Meta-memory questionnaire MMQ [ Time Frame: End of intervention, on average 2 months ]
    Questionnaire about beliefs about memory, problems and strategies
  • Hospital Anxiety and Depression Inventory HADS [ Time Frame: End of intervention, on average 2 months ]
    Questionnaire about anxiety and depression
  • Revised carer stress index [ Time Frame: End of intervention, on average 2 months ]
    Questionnaire about carer stress
  • Semi-structured interview [ Time Frame: End of intervention, on average 2 months ]
    Semi-structured interview about usability and usefulness of memory aid apps
  • Brief phone call [ Time Frame: 1 year post treatment ]
    Brief phone call to ask which apps are still being used


Original Primary Outcome: Same as current

Current Secondary Outcome:

Original Secondary Outcome:

Information By: King's College London

Dates:
Date Received: October 28, 2014
Date Started: December 2014
Date Completion: December 2017
Last Updated: October 30, 2014
Last Verified: October 2014