A Mobile Informatics Solution to Assist Caregivers in Care Coordination and Monitoring Social Engagement

August 14, 2026 updated by: University of Minnesota

This study will evaluate the Social Reminder System, a mobile informatics system designed to support persons with memory concerns and their care partners. The system is intended to aid social integration for persons with memory concerns and improve care coordination and reduce caregiver burden among caregivers.

Researchers will enroll 100 persons with memory concerns and their care partners. Half of the dyads will be randomly assigned to receive the Social Reminder System technology for a 6-month period, and the other half will be randomly assigned to the usual care control group. Participants will complete baseline, 3-month, and 6-month surveys. A subset of participants who receive the technology will also be asked to complete a semi-structured interview after the 6-month survey.

Study Overview

Status

Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

The Social Reminder System has two goals. The first is to aid in the social integration of persons with memory concerns. The second is to improve care coordination and reduce caregiver burden among caregivers. Following a randomized control trial design, the study will assess the impact of the Social Reminder System on both persons with memory concerns and their care partners.

The Social Reminder System app is designed to provide memory prompts to persons with memory concerns on an in-home tablet before and during social visits. Individuals who are part of a person with memory concerns' trusted circle may download a free smartphone app and save a photo of themselves, their names, and familial relationship description that are shared with the person with memory concerns' display. When trusted circle members are within a 10-meter range of the tablet, the person with memory concerns receives a notification that a visitor is in range. The notification includes a photo of the visitor, the visitor's name, and information about their relationship to the person with memory concerns. Reminders continue to appear on the tablet throughout the visit and cease once the visitor is out of range.

The phase 2b technology also allows the person with memory concerns to designate a primary caregiver. For security reasons and to promote care coordination, the care partner will receive a log of visitors who opted in as trusted circle members. The log will include names, dates, and beginning and ending times of each visit.

A total of 100 dyads, consisting of persons with memory concerns and their care partners, will be enrolled. Half of the dyads will be randomly assigned to the Social Reminder System intervention group and half to an attention control group. Participants will complete baseline, 3-month, and 6-month surveys. The baseline survey will be administered before exposure to the intervention or attention control. Follow-up surveys will be administered 3 months and 6 months after enrollment.

The study will also include semi-structured interviews with a subset of dyads randomly assigned to receive the Social Reminder System. Interviews will take place after completion of the final 6-month follow-up survey and will focus on overall reactions to the technology, perceived barriers to engagement with the technology, and short- and long-term outcomes of engagement with the technology that may have been missed in the survey instruments.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

200

Phase

  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Minnesota
      • Minneapolis, Minnesota, United States, 55455
        • University of Minnesota
        • Principal Investigator:
          • Jude Mikal, PhD
        • Contact:

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Persons with memory concerns must be English speaking.
  • Persons with memory concerns must self-report a healthcare provider visit due to memory concerns or memory related diagnosis by a physician or other qualified health care provider consistent with having mild-to-moderate memory impairment.
  • Persons with memory concerns must be over the age of 65.
  • Persons with memory concerns must be able to formally consent or assent to participate in the study.
  • Persons with memory concerns must have internet access.
  • Care partners of persons with memory concerns must speak English.
  • Care partners must be 18 years of age and over.
  • Care partners must self-identify as the primary caregiver for the person with memory concerns.
  • Care partners must indicate a willingness to use the Social Reminder System as well as to being randomized to a control group.
  • Care partners must have a mobile phone with internet access in order to install and use the care partner app.

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Those who do not meet the criteria above will be excluded.
  • Persons with memory concerns with severe or no dementia are not eligible.
  • Individuals who score below 6 and above 24 on the TICS-40 will not be eligible.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Supportive Care
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Experimental: Social Reminder System
Dyads randomly assigned to this arm will receive the Social Reminder System technology for a 6-month period. The Social Reminder System app is designed to provide memory prompts to persons with memory concerns on an in-home tablet before and during social visits. Care partners will also receive a log of visitors to promote care coordination.
Behavioral: Social Reminder System
The Social Reminder System app is designed to provide memory prompts to persons with memory concerns on an in-home tablet before and during social visits. Individuals who are part of a person with memory concerns' trusted circle may download a free smartphone app and save a photo of themselves, their names, and familial relationship description that are shared with the person with memory concerns' display. When trusted circle members are within a 10 meter range of the tablet, the person with memory concerns receives a notification that a visitor is in range. Reminders continue to appear on the tablet throughout the visit and cease once the visitor is out of range. The care partner will also receive a log of visitors, including names, dates, and beginning and ending times of each visit.
No Intervention: Usual Care Control
Dyads randomly assigned to this arm will receive usual care control. The attention control group will receive a 3-month contact call and a 6-month contact call from the research coordinator. Free information resources, such as brochures or websites of the Alzheimer's Association, may be provided.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Social Interaction Frequency and Quality
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in frequency and quality of social interactions reported by persons with memory concerns and care partners, including in-person visits, phone calls, mail and letters, and computer-mediated communication.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Pleasant Events and Social Engagement as Assessed by the Pleasant Events Schedule-Alzheimer's Disease
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in pleasant events and social engagement for persons with memory concerns, assessed using the Pleasant Events Schedule-AD.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Social Support Score
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in social support among persons with memory concerns and care partners, assessed using a five-item social support scale.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Loneliness
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in loneliness among persons with memory concerns and care partners, assessed using the UCLA Loneliness Scale.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Caregiver Burden
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in caregiver burden among care partners, assessed using the Zarit Burden Interview.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Role Captivity Score
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in role captivity among care partners, assessed using a 4-item role captivity scale.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Role Overload Score
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in role overload among care partners, assessed using a 3-item role overload scale.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Anxiety as Assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in anxiety among persons with memory concerns and care partners, assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Depression as Assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in depression among persons with memory concerns and care partners, assessed using the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale.
Baseline to 6 months

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Perceived Function, Utility, and Barriers to Engagement With the Social Reminder System
Time Frame: Up to 1 month after completion of the 6-month follow-up survey
Semi-structured interviews will assess overall reactions to the Social Reminder System, perceived barriers to engagement with the technology, and short- and long-term outcomes of engagement with the technology that may have been missed in the survey instruments.
Up to 1 month after completion of the 6-month follow-up survey
Change in Service Utilization Among Persons With Memory Concerns
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in service utilization among persons with memory concerns, including nursing home, assisted living, other residential care, hospital stays, and emergency department visits.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Negative Health Transitions Among Persons With Memory Concerns
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in negative health transitions among persons with memory concerns, including falls and wandering events, assessed by care partner report.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Quality of Life as Assessed by the Adapted Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease Measure
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in quality of life for persons with memory concerns and care partners, assessed using the adapted Quality of Life-Alzheimer's Disease measure.
Baseline to 6 months
Change in Community Engagement as Assessed by the 15-Item Community Engagement Scale
Time Frame: Baseline to 6 months
Change in community engagement among persons with memory concerns and care partners, assessed using a 15-item scale evaluating frequency, duration, and location of trips outside the home.
Baseline to 6 months

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

University of Minnesota

Collaborators

National Institute on Aging (NIA)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Jude Mikal, PhD, University of Minnesota

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

November 1, 2026

Primary Completion (Estimated)

March 1, 2028

Study Completion (Estimated)

June 1, 2028

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

August 13, 2026

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 14, 2026

First Posted (Actual)

August 19, 2026

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

August 19, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

August 14, 2026

Last Verified

August 1, 2026

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • Study00027433
  • 2R44AG063683-04 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

Subscribe