Daily life and well-being of caregivers for people with Lewy body dementia
Official title: Daily Experiences and Well-being among Caregivers for Older Adults Experiencing Lewy Body Dementia.
Funded at University of Texas at Austin · NIH-11300955 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project asks family caregivers of people with Lewy body dementia to report on symptoms, tasks, stress, and well-being throughout the day and to wear Fitbits so researchers can link daily experiences with sleep and heart-rate patterns.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | University of Texas at Austin NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Austin, United States) |
| Project start | May 1, 2024 |
| Project end | February 28, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $750,713 |
| NIH project number | 5R01AG087118-03 |
| Project ID | NIH-11300955 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Adults aged 21 or older who live with and provide care for a spouse or romantic partner diagnosed with Lewy body dementia are the intended participants.
✕Less likely to help
People who do not care for someone with Lewy body dementia, those caring for non-spouse relatives or unrelated adults, and professional caregivers are unlikely to be eligible or directly helped by this project.
What this research studies
If you care for a spouse or partner with Lewy body dementia, you would do a one-time baseline interview and then answer short phone surveys every three hours for four days about the care recipient's symptoms, your caregiving tasks, stress, support, and mood. You and the person you care for will each wear a Fitbit during the monitoring period so the team can collect sleep and heart-rate data that may indicate stress or agitation. The study will look at how moment-to-moment symptoms and tasks relate to caregiver stress and coping across the day. Results are intended to show when and why caregivers feel most strained so future support can be timed and targeted better.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: Could reveal specific daily patterns and triggers of caregiver stress so future programs and tools can better support caregivers when they need it most.
How similar studies have gone: Similar daily-report and wearable-device studies have identified stress and sleep patterns in caregivers of other dementias, but applying this intensive, moment-by-moment approach specifically to Lewy body dementia caregivers is relatively new.
Where this research is happening
-
University of Texas at Austin
Austin, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Fingerman, Karen L — University of Texas at Austin
- Study coordinator: Fingerman, Karen L
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding the daily experiences and well-being of caregivers for older adults with Lewy Body Dementia.
This study is looking at how taking care of someone with Lewy Body Dementia affects caregivers, so if you're a caregiver, you can share your experiences and help us understand how to better support you.
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Peer support program helping Black families caring for loved ones with dementia
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About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.