by Dr. Mary Beth Happ and Dr. Karen Rose

Claire* contacted the College of Nursing looking for help. Her husband’s dementia had progressed to the point where he could not be left alone, and she was his primary caregiver.

by Todd B. Monroe and Karen O. Moss

Advanced age is associated with both an increased risk of dementia and pain. The prevalence of cognitively impaired individuals suffering from painful conditions will likely increase in the coming decades. Because there is no successful cure for dementia, people living with dementia are at great risk of suffering from pain and discomfort, especially in the later stages of the disease and life when the ability to communicate and verbally report pain is lost.1

The five-year, $3.13 million grant will deploy social-assistive robots at Ohio Living Westminster-Thurber and Chapel Hill Community in Canal Fulton near Canton for an eight-week trial. The study is aimed at curbing loneliness and apathy in older adults, especially for those with dementia.