Improving the Quality of Dementia Care Through Innovative Redesign of the Memory Care Environment

Memory Care of the Future: Improving the Quality of Dementia Care Through Innovative Redesign of the Memory Care Environment

Research study is being done to demonstrate novel opportunities to transform the way the dementia community is cared for.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Dementia
• Intervention / Treatment: Other: Retro-fitted room with technological enhancements

• Study Type: Interventional
• Enrollment (Actual): 10
• Phase: Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• United States
  • Minnesota
    • Rochester, Minnesota, United States, 55905
      • Mayo Clinic in Rochester

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 65 years to 100 years (Older Adult)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Patients currently residing at Arbor Terrace memory care unit
• Patients diagnosed with dementia

Exclusion Criteria:

• Hospice patients with less than 30 days of life expectancy at the time of enrollment

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Design Details

• Primary Purpose: Health Services Research
• Allocation: Randomized
• Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
• Masking: None (Open Label)

Number of Arms

2

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm	Intervention / Treatment
No Intervention: Standard of Care Group
Experimental: Intervention Group; Subjects with dementia will be living in a retro-fitted room with technological enhancements for a 12 month period.	Other: Retro-fitted room with technological enhancements; Reconstructing and retrofitting a currently existing memory care room at Samaritan Bethany Arbor Terrace Senior Living with integrated technologies specifically to accommodate the needs of persons with dementia to enhance sensory stimulation in sight, sound and sleep.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in quality of life, as measured by the Quality of Life in Alzheimer's disease (QOL-AD)	Measured using the self-reported QOL-AD questionnaire comprised of 13 questions with a scale of poor = 1, fair = 2, good = 3, excellent =4. Scores range from 13 to 52, with higher scored indicating better quality of life.	every 2 weeks for up to one year
Change in sleep quality, as measured by the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI)	Measured using the self-reported PSQI that uses 9 questions regarding sleep quality to determine a final score where a total of "5" or greater is indicative of poor sleep quality.	every 2 weeks for up to one year
Change in dementia related behaviors and delirium, as measured by the Neuropsychiatric Inventory-Questionnaire (NPI-Q)	Measured using the self-reported NPI-Q questionnaire that reports Yes = present or No = absent on 12 domains. If yes, then the informant rates the severity of the symptoms on a 3-point scale (1 = mild, 2 = moderate, 3 = severe) and the distress of the symptoms on a 5-point scale (0 = not distressing at all, 1 = minimal, 2 = mild, 3 = moderate, 4 = severe, 5 = extreme or very severe).	every 2 weeks for up to one year
Change in mood, as measured by the Patient Health Questionnaire 9 (PHQ-9)	Measured using the self-reported PHQ-9 questionnaire that uses 9 question regarding patient health with a sale of not at all = 0, several days = 1, more than half the days = 2, nearly everyday =3. Scores range from 0 to 27, with higher scored indicating grater severity of depression.	every 2 weeks for up to one year
Change in function and independence, as measured by the Katz Index of Independence in Activities of Daily living (KATZ)	Measured using the self-reported KATZ questionnaire with a scale of independence = 1 and dependence = 0 to determine total score. The KATZ ranges from 0 to 6 with the lower score indicated patient is very dependent and the higher score indicated patient is independent.	every 2 weeks for up to one year
Change in medication use	Measured using recorded medication use from patient's chart.	every 2 weeks for up to one year
Change in falls	Measured using recorded fall data from patient's chart.	monthly for up to one year

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in caregiver burden, as measured by the Caregiver Strain Index (CSI)	Measured using the self-reported CSI questionnaire with a scale of Yes=1 and No=0. Total score of 7 or higher indicates a high level of stress.	6 months

Other Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Change in emergency room and hospitalizations	Measured using recorded emergency room and hospitalization data from patient's chart.	monthly for up to one year

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Mayo Clinic
• Investigators: Principal Investigator: Ying Ying Chen, MD, Mayo Clinic

Publications and helpful links

Helpful Links

• Mayo Clinic Clinical Trials

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): February 2, 2020
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 29, 2024
• Study Completion (Actual): June 9, 2025

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: December 18, 2019
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: April 14, 2020
• First Posted (Actual): April 16, 2020

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Estimated): August 29, 2025
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: August 25, 2025
• Last Verified: August 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Brain Diseases; Central Nervous System Diseases; Nervous System Diseases; Mental Disorders; Neurocognitive Disorders; Dementia
• Other Study ID Numbers: 18-002202

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No
• product manufactured in and exported from the U.S.: No