Evaluating smart speakers as assistants for informal caregivers of people with dementia

Dementia is a degenerative illness that progresses, affecting mentally, emotionally, and psychologically the person with dementia as well as their informal caregivers, who in most cases are family members. One of the most frequently reported symptoms of dementia is repetitive questions and behaviors; these situations do not directly affect the person with dementia, but the informal caregivers start to experience the caregiver burden. Since there are no known cures for dementia, several technological interventions have been proposed to assist the person with dementia, entertain them, and in general increase their quality of life. While they might eventually help informal caregivers, they often put an additional burden on them, particularly since informal caregivers are often older adults, and might experience difficulties using novel technologies. Thus the importance of proposing technologies to help informal caregivers reduce emotional burdens is evident. We conducted a mixed-method study where three older adults interacted using the Amazon Echo device with the Alexa voice agent for 20 days. We used a single-subject research analysis for the quantitative information, and performed a qualitative analysis to the semi-structured interviews conducted with the participants. The findings suggest that the older adults experienced some difficulties using the device. However, they were able to use it during the study period and expressed their willingness to use it for a longer period of time to become more familiar with the interaction. The ubiquity and ease of use of smart speakers makes them an appropriate technological alternative to deploy interventions aimed at addressing caregiver burden.