Digital Health Platforms

Delirium

Dr. Joshua Chang has focused on delirium identification in the ICU. While delirium has been shown to be a major factor regarding poorer health outcomes in the hospital, it is often undetected or detected too late. There have been a number of studies that have suggested that physiological changes may be associated with delirium, and as such we are exploring the use of both in-hospital monitoring units as well as wearable devices to capture these physiological changes, with the goal of developing an automated delirium prediction and detection system.

Delays in implementing effective delirium prevention protocols can be attributed to a lack of early recognition of delirium, a lack of identification of patients at risk, and gaps in communication with the emergency team. In order to bridge these gaps, Dr. Justin Rousseau developed and is evaluating an emergency alerting system in collaboration with Austin-Travis County EMS and with the regional health information exchange (HIE) in Central Texas, Connxus, for patients known to be at risk for delirium. In future work, we will investigate using electronic health record data to identify patients at risk for delirium and connecting these alerts with an in-hospital clinical interventions such as delirium prevention protocols.

Ongoing Projects:

Delirium Identification in the ICU

Key PUblications:

Aguirre A, Hilsabeck RC, O'Mahar K, Carberry KE, Ayers G, Bertelson J, Rousseau JF, Paydarfar D. Designing an interprofessional dementia specialty clinic: Conceptualization and evaluation of a patient-centered model. J Interprof Care. 2023 Mar-Apr;37(2):254-261. doi: 10.1080/13561820.2022.2060194. Epub 2022 Apr 24. PMID: 36739557.

Benge JF, Aguirre A, Scullin MK, Kiselica A, Hilsabeck RC, Paydarfar D, Thomaz E, Douglas M. Digital Methods for Performing Daily Tasks Among Older Adults: An Initial Report of Frequency of Use and Perceived Utility. Exp Aging Res. 2023 Feb 5:1-22. doi: 10.1080/0361073X.2023.2172950. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 36739553.

Benge JF, Kiselica AM, Aguirre A, Hilsabeck RC, Douglas M, Paydarfar D, Scullin MK. Technology use and subjective cognitive concerns in older adults. Arch Gerontol Geriatr. 2023 Mar;106:104877. doi: 10.1016/j.archger.2022.104877. Epub 2022 Nov 24. PMID: 36459914; PMCID: PMC9868079.