SAMS Longitudinal

• Research type

  Research Study

• Full title

  SAMS - Software Architecture for Mental Health Self Management: Longitudinal Study

• IRAS ID

  174455

• Contact name

  Iracema Leroi

• Contact email

  Iracema.Leroi@manchester.ac.uk

• Sponsor organisation

  University of Manchester

• Duration of Study in the UK

  1 years, 4 months, 2 days

• Research summary

  The numbers of people with dementia (860,000 in the UK) is projected to steadily increase by 130% over the next 14 years (Alzheimer's Society, 2014). Policy drivers such as the National Dementia Strategy (2009) are encouraging people to come forward for investigation of memory complaints, but currently only about 50% of people with dementia ever receive a diagnosis, most commonly in the moderate or severe stages of the illness. Thus, promoting self-awareness of early change in cognitive function and functional capacity is a key step in enabling people to access clinical evaluations in a timely manner. Early diagnosis facilitates interventions which can significantly improve the long term outcome of memory disorders, but novel approaches are needed to enable people’s own awareness of cognitive change and the importance of assessment.
  Computer use is a complex task that relies on both cognitive and functional abilities. Being able to detect changes in daily computer use may provide an opportunity for older computer users to detect and self-manage cognitive and functional decline at an earlier stage rather than relying on conventional means of detection and diagnosis. SAMS is a soft-ware programme designed to detect changes in daily computer use due to cognitive and functional decline. This study will recruit elderly participants who have experienced subtle changes in their cognition and memory to investigate computer use in two ways:

  1. Whether passive and semi-directed monitoring data from computer-use activity can be used to effectively detect clinically significant cognitive decline over time.
  2. How participants perceptions of change in their computer use and daily activities (functional capacity) compare to quantitative data of computer activities and functional capacity over time.

• REC name

  North West - Greater Manchester South Research Ethics Committee

• REC reference

  15/NW/0493

• Date of REC Opinion

  12 Aug 2015

• REC opinion

  Further Information Favourable Opinion