TY - JOUR A1 - Giordano, Katharina A1 - Lauer, Norina A1 - Leusch, Vera A1 - Kreiter, Daniel A1 - Corsten, Sabine T1 - Tablet-based biography work in long-term care homes to support quality of life and prevent depression JF - Educational Gerontology N2 - Older adults in long-term care homes are at high risk of experiencing reduced quality of life (QoL) and depression. Technology-assisted biography work can have a positive impact on QoL and mood, but there is little research on its use with this target group. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of tablet-based biography work conducted by volunteers on the QoL of residents and volunteers. A pretest-posttest control group design with an intervention period of 3 months and a 3-month follow-up was used. Results show a significant increase in participation for volunteers and residents after the intervention, which is stable for residents until follow-up. Volunteers also show significant improvement in mental QoL immediately after the intervention. There were no significant effects for life satisfaction, self-esteem, or depression. No significant changes were found for the control group. Digitally conducted tablet-based biography work appears to have effects on QoL-associated outcomes. KW - Biografieforschung KW - Senioren KW - Tablet PC KW - biography work KW - long-term care KW - tablet support Y1 - 2023 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/03601277.2023.2225362 SN - 1521-0472 SN - 0360-1277 SP - 1 EP - 14 PB - Taylor and Francis CY - London ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kurfess, Christina A1 - Corsten, Sabine A1 - Nickel, Maren A1 - Kreiter, Daniel A1 - Lauer, Norina T1 - Improving health-related quality of life for people with aphasia through peer support using the digital network PeerPAL JF - Aphasiology N2 - Background: Aphasia is often associated with psychosocial changes that may affect health-related quality of life, risk of depression or social participation. One possible intervention to address these psychosocial changes is peer contact. However, this often requires professional support (e.g. supervised support groups), whereas a digital option may allow for autonomous, asynchronous peer contact. Therefore, we developed an app adapted to the specific needs of people with aphasia to stimulate digital and analogue interactions. Aims: The aim of the study was to evaluate a tailored app for people with aphasia that can be used to establish peer contact and enable digital and analogue interactions. The impact of using the app on health-related quality of life, social participation and depression prevention was analysed. Methods & Procedures: The study design was a pre-post wait-list-controlled comparison in which half of the participants (n = 18) waited three months before starting the intervention, and the other half of the participants (n = 18) started the intervention immediately. During the intervention, the app was used by all participants (n = 36) for three months after a training session, followed by three months of optional app use until follow-up. Health-related quality of life (SAQOL39g, GHQ-12), communicative participation (CPIB), social support (F-SozU), depression markers (GDS, DISCs), and activity in the app were recorded at each time point. Analyses were mainly non-parametric to calculate changes during the intervention and to compare the intervention with the waiting period. The study is registered in the German Register of Clinical Trials (DRKS00023855). Outcomes & Results: SAQOL-39g data improved significantly for the whole group during the intervention period (z = -3.043, p = 0.002, r = -0.598), but not during the waiting period (z = 0.402, p = 0.705). Scores remained stable until follow-up, and there was no worsening of depression markers over the entire period. No linear correlation was found between the improvement in SAQOL-39g and activity in the app (p = 0.329, r = 0.167). Conclusions: People with aphasia were able to use the app and showed an intervention-specific effect on health-related quality of life. The amount of activity in the app seems to be less critical for changes. Other factors, such as feeling connected to peers, appear to be relevant. Future studies should explore who might benefit most from the app. KW - Aphasie KW - Partizipation KW - Lebensqualität KW - Inklusion KW - aphasia KW - digital inclusion KW - digital network KW - peer support KW - health-related quality of life Y1 - 2025 U6 - https://doi.org/10.1080/02687038.2025.2505641 SP - 1 EP - 24 PB - Taylor & Francis ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Kurfess, Christina A1 - Corsten, Sabine A1 - Nickel, Maren A1 - Knieriemen, Marie A1 - Kreiter, Daniel A1 - Lauer, Norina T1 - Peer-to-peer support: digital networking in aphasia to improve quality of life (PeerPAL) JF - Frontiers in Communication N2 - Background: People with aphasia (PWA) often suffer from reduced participation and quality of life. Nevertheless, there are currently only a few specific interventions that respond to this problem. Participation and quality of life could be increased by interacting with peers who have similar experiences. Digital social networks could stimulate an autonomous interaction. However, digital social networks need to be adapted to the specific needs of PWA. Therefore, a participatory, agile process involving the target group should be chosen to develop such a olution, i.e., an app. The research project consists of a total of three phases. In the first phase—app development—the app was developed and programmed including the target group. In the second phase—app testing—the usability and user-friendliness of the app were evaluated with four PWA. In the third phase—feasibility and preliminary effcacy—that will be described in the article, the impact of the app on PWA will be evaluated. Aims: The overarching aim of our study is to provide preliminary effcacy of the intervention. Digital social interaction with other PWA can lead to increased social integration. In addition to digital interaction, personal encounters between PWA should be encouraged. As a result, we expect an improvement in quality of life of PWA. Additionally, we focus on identification of the most appropriate measurements to discover changes associated with the intervention. Methods: The evaluation, which is described in this paper, takes place in a pre-test - post-test design with a total of n = 48 PWA. Participants will be recruited in regional clusters to facilitate face-to-face meetings. Half of the participants will be assigned to the delayed intervention group and the other half to the immediate intervention group. Participants in the delayed intervention group will go through a 3-month waiting period before using the app, while the participants of the immediate intervention group will start using the app for 3 months right away. Inclusion criteria are the presence of chronic aphasia (at least 6 months) and possession of a smartphone with internet access. Questionnaires on quality of life (SAQOL-39, GHQ-12), depression (GDS, DISCs), communicative participation (CPIB), and social support (F-SozU) will be conducted at inclusion (t0), after 3 months of app use (t1), and after another 3 months for follow-up (t2). Participants in the delayed intervention group will be assessed twice before the intervention, before the 3-month waiting period (t0a) and after the waiting period (t0b). In addition to the quantitative measures, interviews will take place with 6 to 8 selected participants after 3 months of app use. Responses will be analysed using Thematic Analysis. Discussion: The app will be the first social network tool that is systematically developed with PWA. Initial indications from the first phases are that the app can be used by PWA, so that the evaluation of this app version can take place in the third phase. Results of this study can provide an initial indication of whether social network support is a suitable intervention. Findings will help provide information on the feasibility of digital connectivity for PWA. Preliminary findings on its impact on the participation and quality of life of PWA could be made available. KW - Aphasie KW - Partizipation KW - Lebensqualität KW - Soziales Netzwerk KW - peer-to-peer support Y1 - 2023 U6 - http://nbn-resolving.de/urn/resolver.pl?urn:nbn:de:bvb:898-opus4-64881 VL - 8 PB - Frontiers Media S.A. ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Nickel, Maren T. A1 - Lauer, Norina A1 - Kurfess, Christina A1 - Kreiter, Daniel A1 - Corsten, Sabine T1 - Peer-to-peer support in Aphasia: the participants’ perspective on the digital network PeerPAL JF - Qualitative Research in Communication Differences and Disorders N2 - Background: Aphasia can affect health-related quality of life (HRQL), identity, and social participation. Peer contact can have a positive impact on all three aspects. However, there are barriers to the available offers (e.g., professional guidance), whereas a digital solution enables autonomous peer contact. Therefore, we developed and evaluated a customized application for autonomous, asynchronous peer contact that encourages social activities and interaction. The qualitative evaluation in this study includes evaluation of the application and psychosocial changes during the intervention. Quantitative data are published elsewhere. Method: We conducted interviews with 11 people with aphasia who had participated in our pre–post mixed-methods study. The interviews were analyzed using thematic analysis guided by a codebook. Results: Responses were categorized into use and evaluation of the application (three themes) and psychosocial changes during the intervention (four themes). Most interviewees reported that they would like to use the application in the future. The benefits of peer contact, digital exchange, and, thereby, social activities were positively highlighted. Moreover, there are indications of improvements in HRQL and a change in identity. Negative aspects included a lack of feedback from other participants, too few peers in the geographical area, and missing features and bugs in the application. Discussion/Conclusions: The application is suitable for establishing peer contact, which can lead to psychosocial improvements. It remains to be analyzed who benefits most from the application and at what phase of aphasia. Time since onset, social environment, and previous peer contact should be considered. In the future, a larger sample should be analyzed. KW - Aphasie KW - Inklusion KW - Digitalisierung KW - Lebensqualität KW - Teilhabe KW - Peer Support KW - Social Network Y1 - 2025 UR - https://utppublishing.com/doi/abs/10.3138/qrcdd-2024-0009 VL - 16 IS - 1 SP - 43 EP - 81 PB - University of Toronto Press ER -