Pilot Mobile for Dementia and Frailty

In this project, we propose to build on our Stage I formative work (according to the NIH Stage Model for Behavioral Intervention Development), where we developed fully functional prototypes of a mobile intervention aimed at improving adherence to Mediterranean Diet (MedD) for older adults with frailty and early dementia to complete the Stage II exploratory work, where the intervention will undergo further feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary efficacy tests. The intervention includes a patient-facing app that allows users to track their diet and receive personalized feedback concerning opportunities for improvement and recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks, informational materials about MedD, and a chat feature. On the other end, a web-based provider interface allows clinicians to review patient progress, suggest meal plans, and send and receive messages. The pilot randomized controlled trial, conducted over three months, will compare usual care to usual care plus mobile intervention to gather preliminary efficacy data concerning a change in adherence to MedD score (primary outcome). Mechanistic and secondary outcomes will include MedD knowledge, constructs from Social Cognitive Theory (self-efficacy, outcome expectation, self-regulation, and social support), platform use, anthropometric, and functional measures. Feasibility will be evaluated in terms of recruitment and retention outcomes. Acceptability will be determined through post-intervention semi-structured interviews and structured survey measures.