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Abstract Purpose/ObjectivesWe aim to explore Current Procedural Terminology (CPT) codes for caregiving training services and their potential impacts on caregivers of people living with dementia. Description of the Project/ProgramIn response to the growing need for support for caregivers of people living with physical and mental health issues, CPT codes for caregiving training services will be activated for the calendar year 2024. These codes cover (1) family group behavior management and modification training services and (2) caregiver training for techniques to help patients maintain their quality of life. Caregivers will access such training support through the CPT codes provided by treating practitioners. The duration of training will vary by code. OutcomeImplementing CPT codes for caregiver training services highlights the vital role of caregivers in patient care. This support may improve their skills and communication with healthcare providers. However, timing and accessibility in care delivery need clarification, especially for caregivers of people living with dementia. Regular skill assessment and culturally competent care are essential. Before providing the service, provider training may also promote person-centered care, benefiting patients and their caregivers. ConclusionActivating CPT codes for caregiving training services may enhance caregivers' support and skills, including dementia care.
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Opportunities and Challenges for Augmented Reality in Family Caregiving: Qualitative Video Elicitation Study
BackgroundAlthough family caregivers play a critical role in care delivery, research has shown that they face significant physical, emotional, and informational challenges. One promising avenue to address some of caregivers’ unmet needs is via the design of digital technologies that support caregivers’ complex portfolio of responsibilities. Augmented reality (AR) applications, specifically, offer new affordances to aid caregivers as they perform care tasks in the home. ObjectiveThis study explored how AR might assist family caregivers with the delivery of home-based cancer care. The specific objectives were to shed light on challenges caregivers face where AR might help, investigate opportunities for AR to support caregivers, and understand the risks of AR exacerbating caregiver burdens. MethodsWe conducted a qualitative video elicitation study with clinicians and caregivers. We created 3 video elicitations that offer ways in which AR might support caregivers as they perform often high-stakes, unfamiliar, and anxiety-inducing tasks in postsurgical cancer care: wound care, drain care, and rehabilitative exercise. The elicitations show functional AR applications built using Unity Technologies software and Microsoft Hololens2. Using elicitations enabled us to avoid rediscovering known usability issues with current AR technologies, allowing us to focus on high-level, substantive feedback on potential future roles for AR in caregiving. Moreover, it enabled nonintrusive exploration of the inherently sensitive in-home cancer care context. ResultsWe recruited 22 participants for our study: 15 clinicians (eg, oncologists and nurses) and 7 family caregivers. Our findings shed light on clinicians’ and caregivers’ perceptions of current information and communication challenges caregivers face as they perform important physical care tasks as part of cancer treatment plans. Most significant was the need to provide better and ongoing support for execution of caregiving tasks in situ, when and where the tasks need to be performed. Such support needs to be tailored to the specific needs of the patient, to the stress-impaired capacities of the caregiver, and to the time-constrained communication availability of clinicians. We uncover opportunities for AR technologies to potentially increase caregiver confidence and reduce anxiety by supporting the capture and review of images and videos and by improving communication with clinicians. However, our findings also suggest ways in which, if not deployed carefully, AR technologies might exacerbate caregivers’ already significant burdens. ConclusionsThese findings can inform both the design of future AR devices, software, and applications and the design of caregiver support interventions based on already available technology and processes. Our study suggests that AR technologies and the affordances they provide (eg, tailored support, enhanced monitoring and task accuracy, and improved communications) should be considered as a part of an integrated care journey involving multiple stakeholders, changing information needs, and different communication channels that blend in-person and internet-based synchronous and asynchronous care, illness, and recovery.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2026577
- PAR ID:
- 10559703
- Publisher / Repository:
- JMIR
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- JMIR Formative Research
- Volume:
- 8
- ISSN:
- 2561-326X
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- e56916
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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- Free Publicly Accessible Full Text
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Accepted Manuscript
- Journal Article:
- https://doi.org/10.2196/56916
