Older Adult Well-Being Lab

The Older Adult Well-being Lab is thrilled to by the $3 billion investment the State of Texas will make in dementia research over the next decade.

The Dementia Prevention Research Institute of Texas (DPRIT) will make a huge difference in propelling research.

Dr. Fingerman directs the Texas Aging & Longevity Consortium and co-directs the Center on Aging and Population Sciences, which comprises scholars across campus who are translating knowledge into action to combat Alzheimer’s disease and Related Dementias.

Older Adult Well-being Lab

The Older Adult Well-Being Lab (OWL) studies social relationships and health in late life. We employ an ecologically valid approach to research by observing older adults as they engage in their daily activities. We have used a variety of sensor devices on smartphones and fitness watches to unobtrusively track conversations, physical activity, sleep, television viewing, interactions with social partners, and a variety of daily activities.

Dr. Fingerman writes a blog for Psychology Today on a variety of topics related to social relationships and to aging. Follow her blog here.  Her current research, funded by the National Institutes on Aging, involves Lewy Body Dementia Caregivers.

Our prior research, funded by the National Institute on Aging, has included studies of intergenerational relationships from the Family Exchanges Study and studies of older adults’ social engagement and daily life from the Daily Experiences and Well-being Study. The data are publicly available. We also have conducted a study of young adult caregivers (data available upon request).

Lewy Body Dementia Caregiver Study

Our current research involves a study funded by the National Institute on Aging examining the experiences of caregivers for family members experiencing Lewy Body Dementia (LBD; the current term that encompasses Dementia with Lewy Bodies and Parkinson’s Disease with Dementia). LBD  is the second most common cause of neurodegenerative dementia, accounting for 4 to 15% of dementia cases. Caregivers for LBD experience a distinct profile of demands that include: a) cognitive symptoms similar to Alzheimer’s Disease, b) motor symptoms of Parkinson’s Disease, and c) additional core symptoms of LBD that differ from other dementias: fluctuations in cognition, hallucinations, delusions and REM behavioral sleep disturbances (including acting out dreams). The LBD Caregiver Study will enhance the wellbeing of caregivers for older adults with LBD by gathering information about caregiving tasks, caregiver stress, and caregivers’ psychological and physical reactions to that stress throughout the day, allowing development of caregiver interventions and programs tailored to the unique needs of caregivers for older adults experiencing Lewy Body Dementia. Interested caregivers can fill out this form to enroll in the Lewy Body Dementia Caregiver Study or to learn more, contact us at caregivers@austin.utexas.edu