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A Randomized Controlled Trial of Visual Cues, Signage, and Spaced-Retrieval Education within Long Term Care Communities to Assist with Wayfinding

Award Number: R01AG056384
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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Project Summary/ Abstract The ability to locate and travel successfully to a destination, known as wayfinding, is a significant problem for older adults with cognitive disorders. Relocating to a new residence such as independent or assisted living is a time in which older adults with cognitive problems are most vulnerable to experiencing difficulties finding their way. Often these long term care communities are not designed to facilitate wayfinding as they are complex, confusing, and lack distinctiveness. Wayfinding problems can cause an individual's world to shrink, leading to a smaller life space (the spatial extent of travel within the community), decreased engagement, and dependence upon others for activities of daily living. The overall goal of the proposed project is to assess the contribution of salient visual cues and Spaced Retrieval (SR) on wayfinding ability and life space in older adults with wayfinding problems who live in senior communities. Salient cues, such as vivid pictures, statues and bright, distinctive signage can make senior residential communities more memorable and distinctive. This study has three specific aims: a) To examine the effect of salient cues with and without spaced retrieval education on wayfinding ability initially and over time in older adults who have wayfinding deficits in long term care communities; and b) To determine the effects of salient visual cues and SR on life space; and c) to determine subject characteristics that are most amenable to the intervention; and which subject characteristics place persons at risk for less responsiveness to the intervention so that the intervention can be appropriately targeted. There are three arms to the clinical trial to which nine care communities will be randomly assigned, including Arm 1 (control; no change to the care community); Arm 2 (colorful and familiar objects and signage placed within the care community); and Arm 3 (Arm 2 cues plus SR). Participants will be individuals within the communities who exhibit problems finding their way. They will be asked to find their way repeatedly to specific destinations over a period of a year. Wayfinding performance, including how fast the participants find the test location and the errors they make compared between study Arms. Life space will also be measured and compared between Arms. It is hypothesized that individuals who are in care communities which are enhanced with salient cues will improve wayfinding when compared to care communities without salient cues. In addition, Spaced Retrieval, which is an evidence-based memory strategy, is hypothesized to positively influence subjects' use of the cues and improve wayfinding performance. Finally, it is hypothesized that wayfinding ability will correlate with life space. The long term goals of this research are to test an evidence based intervention to enhance senior residences so that older adults who have wayfinding problems can more easily learn and remember their environments so that they can maintain independence.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = -$207,259 )
2024	2022	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	000	5	6/5/2024	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	-$207,259
														Subtotal = -$207,259

Issue Date FY: 2022 ( Subtotal = $396,348 )
2022	2022	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	001	5	6/2/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$39,637
2022	2022	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	000	5	2/14/2022	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$356,711
														Subtotal = $396,348

Issue Date FY: 2021 ( Subtotal = $564,719 )
2021	2021	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	000	4	2/10/2021	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$564,719
														Subtotal = $564,719

Issue Date FY: 2020 ( Subtotal = $616,202 )
2020	2020	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	002	3	5/19/2020	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$0
2020	2020	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	001	3	5/12/2020	SUPPLEMENT FOR EXPANSION	$152,223
2020	2020	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	000	3	1/17/2020	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$463,979
														Subtotal = $616,202

Issue Date FY: 2019 ( Subtotal = $463,979 )
2019	2019	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	000	2	12/31/2018	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$463,979
2019	2019	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	001	2	3/6/2019	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$0
														Subtotal = $463,979

Issue Date FY: 2018 ( Subtotal = $445,552 )
2018	2018	GRAND VALLEY STATE UNIVERSITY	1 CAMPUS DR	ALLENDALE	MI	49401	OTTAWA	USA	Aging Research	000	1	5/17/2018	NEW	$445,552
														Subtotal = $445,552

Grand Total All Awards = $2,279,541

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A Randomized Controlled Trial of Visual Cues, Signage, and Spaced-Retrieval Education within Long Term Care Communities to Assist with Wayfinding

Award Number: R01AG056384

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON AGING

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: SCIENTIFIC/HEALTH RESEARCH (INCLUDES SURVEYS)

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