What role should community and caregivers play in brain health and mental health, and how can technology aid their efforts–for example in sharing relevant data with/ from doctors? How are we going to educate and empower everyone with essential knowledge and best practices? --Chair: Dr. Peter Whitehouse, Professor of Neurology at Case Western Reserve University --Dr. Elizabeth Zelinski, Director of the Center for Digital Aging at the Davis School of Gerontology --Michael Meagher, President of Cogniciti --Dr. Neal Cohen, clinical psychologist at The Synapse System Learn more at sharpbrains.com

1. Empower communities with better brain health
tools and literacy

2. Empower communities with better tools and brain
health literacy
Chaired by: Dr. Peter Whitehouse,
Professor of Neurology,
Case Western Reserve University
Dr. Elizabeth Zelinsky,
Director of the Center for Digital Aging,
Davis School of Gerontology
Michael Meagher,
President, Cogniciti
Dr. Neal Cohen,
Clinical Psychologist,
The Synapse System

3. Empowering Caregivers of Older Adults
with Mobile Apps
Elizabeth M. Zelinski, PhD
Rita and Edward Polusky Chair in Education and Aging
Director, Center for Digital Aging
Professor of Gerontology and Psychology
Supported in part by R01 AG10569, P50 AG005142, US National Institute on
Aging and a grant from Healthcare Partners, Inc. Foundation

4. • Virtual companion for cognitively
impaired older adults
• Consulting in development of a fall
prevention game
• Consulting in a web-based
information source for identifying
elder abuse
• Consulting on a research-based
caregiver support app
Center for Digital Aging projects

5. • Easily accessible
• Inexpensive
• Integrate information from
multiple sources
• Effective for self management
of chronical conditions
• Could be effective for more
recent cohorts of caregivers
Mobile applications can empower

6. • 13-16% of adults in US experience a
brain disorder, most over 65
• More than 15M Americans provide
unpaid care
• Average 22 hours/week
• 59% high to very high level of
emotional stress
• Negative mental health outcomes
include depression, anxiety, and
hostility
Caring for an adult with a brain
disorder

7. • Low-technology but labor-intensive
solutions including telephone
support reduce caregiver burden
• 69% of technology-using caregivers
receptive to smartphone apps for
help
• 78% of caregivers who have
fulltime paid employment are very
receptive to smartphone apps.
Caregivers benefit from support

8. • Information and Resources
• Practical Problem Solving
– Medication Management
– Safety
– Memory Aids
• Improving Family Coordination
– Coordination of Care
– Personal Health Tracking
• Increasing Self-Efficacy with Emotional
Support
Support for caregivers reduces their
depression, anxiety, and stress

9. • Apps in App Store and Google Play
• Keyword search: caregiving, caregiver, elder
care, caregiving apps
• Included: apps specific to family or
informal caregivers of older adults
• Excluded: apps that market paid services,
apps for professional providers, or apps
that locate professional caregiving services
• Three data points: April 2014, April 2015;
April 2016 to assess stability of apps
offered
Classification of existing app
characteristics for evidence-based
support

10. Considerable app turnover

11. 2016 App Characteristics
Improving Family
Communication
36%
Comprehensive
4%
Information
22%
Memory Aids
16%
Med Management
13%
Safety
9%
Practical Problem
Solving
38%

12. n Topics/features within
category
Platform Cost range
Information &
Resources
10 Searchable databases
Videos
Symptom tracking
Personalized reports
5 iOS
2 Android
3 both
Download: $0.99 - $4.99
Free with in-app
purchases to $54.99
Practical problem
solving
17 Medication management (6)
GPS/camera to locate patient
(4)
Memory support (7)
8 iOS
11 both
Download: free +
subscription $3.99/year to
$4.99/ month
Free with in-app and
equipment purchases
from $9.99 to $249.99
Improving family
communication
16 Care coordination
Health history/tracking
8 iOS
8 both
Download: free - $12.99
Free with in-app
purchases to $8.99
Comprehensive 2 Problem solving + family
communication
1 iOS
1 both
Download: free - $0.99
Apps offer some evidence-based support

13. • Emotional support
• Increasing self efficacy
• Personalized support:
inspirational messages
• Music playlists for relaxation
• mindfulness
Missing: care for the caregiver

14. • Different apps cover 3 of the 4 areas of
evidence-based intervention benefits
• Most not comprehensive: only 2 apps
cover multiple sources of benefit in one
program
• However, increasing self efficacy and
providing emotional support not yet
addressed
• No real-time support for caregivers to
reach out to others in their situation
Apps can be valuable for caregiver
stress but there’s room to grow

15. • High turnover of available apps
• Customizing for need
– Developmental changes in care
recipient needs
– Long distance vs local caregivers
– Caregiving for sandwich
caregivers
– Caregiver/care recipient diversity
Additional Challenges

16. 16
Brain Health
commercialization arm of
Baycrest
Canada’s largest
geriatric hospital
and a
world leader
in the research of
memory and agingwww.Baycrest.org
Michael Meagher,
President, Cogniciti

17. 17
December 6, 2016
From: Dementia Disease Canada
To: Canadian Healthcare Funders
Terms: to be paid over the next 30 years
Payment Details
Direct Healthcare Costs $490 billion
Lost Productivity Family Caregivers $302 billion
Lost Profits To Employers $ 80 billion
Total To Be Paid $872 billion
INVOICE

18. 18
Funding Relief

19. 19
How
Combine technology and
brain health science to
fast track adults at risk
for earlier diagnosis and
treatment

20. 20
20
• Validated by Baycrest scientists to
answer the question “Is my
memory normal or should I see my
doctor?”
• Peer reviewed, published, and
patented.
• Free, private, online for adults
ages 40 – 79 years.
Cogniciti Brain Health Assessment

21. 21
Tests sensitive to changes with age

22. 22
22
Online Library for Follow Up

23. 23
Targeted
Outcomes
1. Better patient outcomes
2. More effective coordination
between doctors, nurses, family,
and patients
3. Lower healthcare costs

24. 24
Strong Start
From a single
media release
200,000
135,000
46,000
Site Visits
Site Visitors
Completed
Assessments

25. 25
Next Step
44 million
adults Canada/USA
with
memory concerns

26. 26
Strategy – Community Action Via

27. Proprietary Information
The Synapse System:
Empowering Patients for Cognitive
Recovery
Neal Cohen, PsyD
Licensed Psychologist
27

28. Proprietary Information
“It is possible that the poor prognosis
associated with addiction is in part due to
the fact that previous treatments have not
addressed underlying cognitive deficits. A
reconceptualization of the patient group as
cognitively impaired patients with co-
occurring substance abuse rather than
substance uses might better reflect their
treatment needs.”
H.H. Brorson et al. / Clinical Psychology Review 33 (2013)
28

29. Proprietary Information
Substance Use Disorders is a national crisis
 Drug use is one of the leading causes of death in the US killing
570,000 people annually.
 21M Americans have a substance use disorder.
 2.5M enter a hospital or clinic for treatment.
 U.S. Government will spend over $12B in fighting drug use.
 Relapse rate is 80%-90%.
 Many professionals do not understand the neuroscientific aspects
of substance use.
29

30. Proprietary Information
The Synapse System: Neurobehavioral
Facilitation
Question: What would the treatment of substance use disorders
look like if we were to take our neuroscientific understanding of the
problem seriously?
Response: A comprehensive, theoretically sound, set of tools and
interventions based on empirical literature to promote “cognitive
recovery” by engaging patients in efforts to promote brain health in
service of maintaining long-term remission.
30

31. Proprietary Information
Challenges to Recovery in the Digital Age
31

32. Proprietary Information Source: V. Manning et. al / Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences
(2017)
Potential neurocognitive targets and approaches
32

33. Proprietary Information 33
Thank You
Q&A

34. Thank you to all Participants!

35. Sponsors
Thank you to all Speakers & Sponsors!

36. To learn more, visit sharpbrains.com