Small daily activities may help ease dementia caregivers’ stress

Written by Wendy Lombard

Nearly 12 million people in the U.S. provide unpaid care to a relative or friend with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementias (ADRD).  

Compared with caregivers of people without dementia, ADRD caregivers face greater demands that may contribute to higher rates of depression, anxiety, sleep problems, reduced physical activity, and chronic illness.  

When caregivers experience poor physical or emotional health, the health and well being of those receiving care may also suffer.   

Research suggests that engaging in positive activities can improve caregivers’ mood and support their physical and emotional well being. Yet, existing caregiver interventions are often burdensome and may not prioritize positive activities.  

To address these gaps, Sung Won Choi, M.D., M.S., an Edith S. Briskin and Shirley K. Schlafer Foundation Research Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Michigan Medical School developed Roadmap, a mobile health (mHealth) app featuring eight positive activity modules for caregivers.  

Previous studies across multiple caregiver populations demonstrated the app’s feasibility, acceptability, and efficacy, but it had not been tested specifically among ADRD caregivers.  

Choi collaborated with colleagues including Noelle Carlozzi, Ph.D., Director of U-M’s Center for Clinical Outcomes Development & Application, and Kira Birditt, Ph.D., Research Professor, Survey Research Center, Institute for Social Research at U-M to assess Roadmap’s feasibility and acceptability. 

In a pilot study involving 20 dementia caregivers, participants engaged in positive activities on 87% of study days and completed 95% of nightly surveys, demonstrating high feasibility.  

The app received moderate acceptability ratings ranging from 72% to 78%. Notably, on days caregivers engaged in positive activities, they also reported less stress and depression and a more positive mood.  

“These findings suggest that even small, manageable positive activities may make a meaningful difference in caregivers’ daily well-being,” said Carlozzi.  

“By making this type of support accessible through a mobile app, we hope to give dementia caregivers practical tools they can incorporate into their daily lives without adding to their already substantial demands.”  

These promising findings, recently published in Frontiers in Dementia, lay the groundwork for a future randomized controlled trial examining whether Roadmap can improve ADRD caregivers’ mental health.  

Additional authors: Yee To Ng, Lizabeth Benson, Allison Doroschewitz, and Angela Turkelson from the Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, United States. 

Paper cited: “Use of the Roadmap positive activity app in daily life among dementia caregivers: evidence of feasibility and acceptability,” Frontiers in Dementia. DOI: doi.org/10.3389/frdem.2026.1861809 

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