living@home - Multimodale, dyadische, App-gestützte Intervention

Background

A large proportion of people living with dementia are cared for at home by family members. As many people with dementia wish to remain in their own homes for as long as possible, family carers play a central role in supporting them and often coordinate complex care arrangements. Remaining in the home environment also represents an important policy objective aimed at ensuring the sustainability of an already strained social and healthcare system. In order for living at home to remain feasible in the long term, all involved actors must jointly shape a care arrangement that meets the needs of the affected families. This is a key concern of the project line “Stability of Care Arrangements” (SoCA), in which the complex phenomenon of stability has been theoretically conceptualized and empirically investigated.

Within the living@home project, an intervention was developed that is implemented by specially trained nursing professionals. These family caregiver experts support the dyads, assess their individual needs, and coordinate appropriate professional services. In addition, an app facilitates communication between families and the family caregiver expert, provides knowledge, and supports monitoring of the home care situation.

The research team at the DZNE site in Witten was involved in the development of the intervention and is currently accompanying its practical implementation at the study centers. In doing so, the team contributes expertise from the SoCA project line to the project consortium.

Project Aims

The aim of living@home is the implementation and evaluation of a dyadic, multimodal, app-supported intervention for people with dementia and their family carers. The project seeks to enhance the stability of home-based care, reduce caregiver burden, and decrease neuropsychiatric symptoms in the person with dementia.

Methods

The intervention was designed during the preparatory phase and supplemented by a curriculum and a three-month qualification program for family caregiver experts. Following study enrollment (starting January 2026), participating dyads will be randomized to either an intervention or a control group. The intervention group will receive support through the living@home intervention over a period of twelve months, while the control group will continue to use usual care services. After twelve months, a final assessment will be conducted in both groups.

Expected Results

The project is expected to improve the stability of home-based care, reduce the burden on family caregivers, and lessen neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with dementia. In addition, the targeted coordination of support services is intended to help prevent crises in care arrangements.