Our Studies

The CareHeroes Project

Our team developed a web program and smartphone app, called CareHeroes, that educates and supports caregivers of people living with dementia. It also helps caregivers and providers better communicate about patient symptom information in real time. CareHeroes was first tested in 2011 in Miami, Florida. It later was translated into Spanish and later we interviewed caregivers in Alabama to get their feedback on the program. This study learned more about what African American and rural caregivers thought about the program. Our team is currently partnering with the UAB Memory Disorder Clinic and Miami Jewish Health Services to see how helpful providers and caregivers find the program in caring for people with dementia. 
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Funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) ​(R21 HS026571, UA/FIU), Florida Department of Health, the John A. Hartford Foundation
Project Leadership: Nicole Ruggiano, Ellen Brown

Related publications:

• Ruggiano, N., Brown, E. L., Li, J., Geldmacher, D., Clark, P., Hristidis, V., & Bertram, J. (2019). Communicating with providers for dementia care: Perspectives from caregivers and the potential role for information technology. The Journal of Aging and Social Change, 9(3), doi: https://doi.org/10.18848/2576-5310/CGP/v09i03/25-38
• Ruggiano, N., Brown, E., Shaw, S., Geldmacher, D., Clarke, P., Hristidis, V., & Bertram, J. (2019). The potential of information technology to navigate caregiving systems: Perspectives from dementia caregivers. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 64,432-450.
• Brown, E.L., Ruggiano, N., Page, T.F., Roberts, L., Hristidis, V., Whiteman, K., & Castro, J. (2016) Care Heroes web and Android apps for dementia caregivers: A feasibility study. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 9, 193-203.
• Ruggiano, N., Brown, E., Hristidis, V., & Page, T. (2013). Adding home health care to the discussion on health information technology policy. Home Health Care Services Quarterly 32, 149-162. doi:10.1080/01621424.2013.813884.
• Ruggiano, N., Shtompel, N., Hristidis, V., Roberts, L., Grochowski, J., & Brown, E. (2012). Need and potential use of information technology for case manager-physician communication in home care. Home Health Care Management & Practice, 24, 292-297. 

Integration of Health Information Technology and Promotion of Personhood in Family-Centered Dementia Care

Our team is developing a digital, touchscreen Augmentative and Alternative Communication Device (AAC) that will support older adults who have trouble communicating in expressing their care preferences and experiences. It is designed for caregivers and those with dementia (or stroke) to use together to support enjoyable interactions and caregiving activities (like eating and dressing). It will also capture experiences such as mood that may be shared with a provider in real time. Our team is currently developing the device and will test it in a later study at two memory clinics (Miami Jewish Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham Memory Disorder Clinic).

 Funded by theNational Institute on Aging (R01AG068572 FIU/UA)
Project Leadership: Nicole Ruggiano, Ellen Brown
Related Publication and Presentation

• Brown, E. L., Ruggiano, N., Agronin, M., Clarke, P., Davis, D. L., Framil, C., Geldmacher, D., Hough, M., Muñoz, M., H., Roberts, L., & Yang, X. (2021). Integration of health information technology and promotion of personhood in family-centered dementia care: Intervention trial. Research in Gerontological Nursing, 14(5), https://doi.org/10.3928/19404921-20210825-02
• Brown, E. L., Ruggiano, N., Muñoz, M. T., H., Roberts, L., Framil, C. V., Arroyo, B., & Bourgeois, M. (2021, November). Touchscreen Technology to Improve Dementia Care Management for Older Adults Living in the Community. Poster presentation to be given at the annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of American meeting, Phoenix, AZ.
• Mariateresa H. Muñoz, Joana Okine, Ellen L. Brown, & Nicole Ruggiano. (2024, July). The State of the Arts in Mobile Augmentative and Alternative Communication Devices for People with Dementia: Evaluation of Features and Functions. Poster presented at the annual meeting of the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference, Philadelphia, PA. 

Cognitive Impairment Advocate: Empower Patients through the Use of Personalized AI Conversational Agents

Our team is developing chatbots for multiple purposes. One chatbot is designed to help support caregivers of people living with dementia. This chatbot assists caregivers in taking clinical assessments of their loved one at home and also provides caregivers with tailored communication (part of the CareHeroes Project). The other chatbot will support and improve health literacy of older adults in primary care who report noticeable cognitive decline. 

Project Leadership: Nicole Ruggiano, Ellen Brown, Vagelis Hristidis
Funded by the AHRQ, NIA (see grant information above), NSF grant under review.
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Related Publication:
Ruggiano, N., Brown, E. L., Roberts, L., Framil Suarez, C. V., Luo, Y.*, & Hao, Z.,* Hristidis, V. (2021). Chatbots to support people with dementia and their caregivers: Available applications, opportunities, and challenges. Journal of Medical Internet Research (JMIR), https://www.jmir.org/2021/6/e25006

Planning Live, Sustainable Community Asset Mapping for a Dementia e-Friendly Alabama

This project aims to develop a community asset mapping (CAM) technology where caregivers and providers in Alabama can share the location of resources and support for people living with dementia and their families. The goal is to create a community-focused technology that helps educate families in Alabama about service options for dementia care and helps connect them to the support they need within their own community.  
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Funded by the National Science Foundation (1951974, UA)
Project Leadership: Nicole Ruggiano, Monica Anderson, Zhe Jiang, Jeff Gray

Related Presentation:
Ruggiano, N., Luo, Y., Hurd, A., Lawlor, K., Anderson, M., Jang, Z., & Gray, J. (2021, November). Developing Information Technologies to Promote Dementia e-Friendly Communities for COVID-19 and Beyond. Poster presentation to be given at the annual scientific meeting of the Gerontological Society of American meeting, Phoenix, AZ. 

Self-Management and Decision Making among Older Adults receiving Home and Community-based Long-term Care

This study involved in-depth interviews with older adults with chronic conditions and geriatric case managers in Florida to learn how older adults make decision about their health and how they manage their care. The findings documented factors that older adults consider when making decisions about their health, where they get information about their health, and their interactions with health care professionals. This study was featured in a TEDx talk, titled Getting Old Should Not Mean Losing Control.

Funded by the John A. Hartford Foundation
Project Leadership: Nicole Ruggiano
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Related publications:

• Ruggiano, N., Shtompel, N., Whiteman, K., & Sias, K., (2017). The role of transportation in health self-management among older adults with chronic conditions. Behavioral Medicine, 43, 61-70. doi: 10.1080/08964289.2015.1065788.
  Ruggiano, N., Fortuna, K., & Shtompel, N. (2016) “If I don’t like the way I feel with a certain drug, I’ll tell them.” Older adults’ experiences with self-determination and health self-advocacy. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 35, 401-420. doi: 10.1177/0733464814527513.
• Ruggiano, N., Shtompel, N.*, & Edvardsson, D. (2015). Engaging in coordination of health and disability services as described by older adults: Processes and influential factors. The Gerontologist, 55, 1015-1025. 
• Shtompel, N., Fortuna, K., & Ruggiano, N. (2014). Negative feelings among older adults with chronic conditions. Journal of Gerontological Social Work, 57, 810-824. doi:10.1080/01634372.2014.898008.
• Perry, T., Ruggiano, N., Shtompel, N., & Hassevoort, L. A. (2014). Applying Erikson’s wisdom to health self-management practices of older adults: Findings from two field studies. Research on Aging, 37, 253-274. doi:10.1177/0164027514527974.