The project “Self-care, healing and social support for dementia patients and their caregivers” is led by Priya Nambisan, PhD, Associate Professor of Biostatistics and Health Informatics at the Joseph J. Zilber College of Public Health.
Supported by Bader Philanthropies, the research project aims to address the unmet need for self-care guidelines among Alzheimer’s and dementia patients with co-occurring chronic conditions, often overlooked due to assumptions about their inability to care for themselves.
The project will use an already built and pilot tested web platform called myHESTIA (my Healing Ecosystem for Self-care and Therapeutic Integration for the Aging) which is a Comprehensive Digital Self-care Support System (CDSSS) with over 50 trackers to track various health conditions and symptoms.
By providing tools such as memory aids, reminders, health trackers, healing tools and social support forums, all available within myHESTIA, the project seeks to empower early-stage dementia patients, potentially enhancing their self-efficacy for self-care and relieving caregiver burden.
With support from Bader Philanthropies, this innovative research project reflects the Zilber College of Public Health’s commitment to advancing health equity and improving quality of life for underserved populations.