Although persons with dementia (PWD) and their family caregivers need in-home support for common neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS), few if any assistive technologies are available to help manage NPS. This implementation study tested the feasibility and adoption of a touch screen technology, the Companion, that delivers psychosocial, nondrug interventions to PWD in their home to address individual NPS and needs. Interventions were personalized and delivered in-home for a minimum of 3 weeks. Post-intervention measures indicated the technology was easy to use, significantly facilitated meaningful and positive engagement, and simplified caregivers’ daily lives. Although intervention goals were met, caregivers had high expectations of their loved-one’s ability to regain independence. Care recipients used the system independently, but were limited by cognitive and physical impairments. We conclude the Companion can help manage NPS and offer caregiver respite at home. These data provide important guidance for design and deployment of care technology for the home.

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The Life Enhancement Treatment for Substance Use (LETS ACT) is a behavioral activation based treatment for comorbid depression and substance use (Daughters et al, 2008). We describe the iterative design process for including motivational and informational attributes in a smartphone application supporting treatment via LETS ACT and LETS ACT-SE (Daughters & Chen, 2014). Design of the app was uniquely constrained by the need to meet clinical requirements while serving a special population of substance users. The primary goal of LETS ACT is to motivate the user to identify, engage in, and continue engaging in rewarding activities that align with their important life areas, goals, and values, and thus extend the effects of treatment sessions through self-management. In support of this primary goal, the goal of the app is to motivate the user to continue to use the application, and thus to adhere to the primary goal: self- management of treatment. In efficacy studies of LETS ACT and LETS ACT-SE, users could see their progress on paper (Daughters et al, 2008; Magidson et al, 2011) or on a web based platform. How to capitalize on the additional interactive affordances of a standalone smartphone application for this user group was unknown. The two challenges of providing information and motivation were at the core of the app design.

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