SLHS grad student inviting research participants with dementia for memory wallet project
Do you have a family member who has communication problems due to dementia? An MSUM graduate student researcher in the Speech-Language-Hearing Science department is looking for an individual who is at least 55 years of age, who has been diagnosed with probable dementia, or who has a history of characteristics of dementia, to participate in a study called: Memory Wallet Intervention for an Individual with Dementia.
The purpose of this study is to determine if the use of a memory wallet is an effective intervention technique to improve the conversational behaviors of an individual with dementia when the treatment is implemented by a clinician. The types of statements made by the participant will be analyzed.
Interested persons will participate in an initial testing (approximately 45 minutes) in order to determine if he/she meets the criteria necessary for participation in the study. The first individual to meet the criteria will be invited to participate. Treatment sessions will involve conversational sessions with the clinician using a personalized memory wallet. You will provide relevant photographs, which will be photocopied (used for the construction of your memory wallet) and returned to you. The time involved in the study will be 15-minute treatment sessions with the clinician, 1-2 times per week for approximately 7-8 weeks. Interactions may be recorded for the sole purpose of being reviewed by the researcher. At the closing of the research, a care-giver of the participant will be invited to a short memory wallet training session with the student clinician.
Risks: There is no more than minimal risk associated with participating in this study.
Benefits: You will receive a personalized memory wallet, free-of-charge. The participant will also receive positive conversational interactions.
Confidentiality: Your participation in this study will remain confidential, and your identity will not be revealed. All videotapes, audio recordings, and written transcripts will be securely stored during the time of the research. Three years after the study is completed, all data will be destroyed. The compiled data may be presented at student and/or professional conferences, but your identity will not be revealed and videos and/or audio recordings of the subject will not be used.
Contact: If you are interested in this study or have any questions, please contact the graduate student researcher Justine Thomas at (701) 566-4505 or feeju@mnstate.edu. You can also contact Nancy Paul, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Associate Professor/Graduate Coordinator in the Speech Language Hearing Sciences Department, at (218) 477-4642 or paulnan@mnstate.edu .