DEVELOPING A PROTOCOL USING WEARABLE CAMERAS FOR MEMORY TRAINING WITH OLDER ADULTS: A METHODOLOGICAL REPORT

Although not as pronounced as in Alzheimer’s Disease, healthy aging is associated with substantial deficits in memory functions, particularly in episodic and autobiographical memory. Efforts to train these impaired functions are hindered by the lack of transfer of the training effects to other tasks and daily activities and limited by artificial laboratory stimuli. Addressing these limitations, we developed an autobiographical memory training protocol using wearable cameras to record participants’ own life events as photos, and laptops to train their memory using these events at home. We tested the feasibility of the protocol in a study with 15 healthy older adults. The results showed that the protocol and set of instructions we designed enabled participants to use the equipment (wearable camera and laptop) successfully at home. In a novel addition, we used automated image processing to protect the privacy of the participants’ photos, which are considered Protected Health Information. Older adults’ responses to the overall study and camera use was positive, indicating that studies using wearable cameras can be engaging and motivating, and potentially even successful in improving memory. The methods will be the central focus on this paper, and the results will be expanded upon in a subsequent paper.