ATLANTA, GA – MapHabit, an Atlanta-based technology company, has been awarded a $2.9M Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Fast Track Phase II Grant from the National Institute on Aging, part of the National Institutes of Health (Award Number 1R44AG076256-01A1). The three-year grant will provide funds for the research and development of a Care Partner Training Program, which will foster personalized education to family care partners for optimal person-centered care strategies and train them on equally important self-care techniques.
Being a care partner is commonly acknowledged as one of the most stressful, under-recognized, under-paid, and under-supported jobs. The new Care Partner Training Program will offer key innovative features to enhance the care partners’ own quality of life and directly support care partners in their role, which in turn will result in reduced care partner-related cost burdens in all types of home and community based care settings.
Some of the features of the new CTP include self-paced learning that starts with understanding the care partner's knowledge and skill level; interactive live coaching sessions; easy to use care partner-centric dashboards to share information, and social networking capabilities to promote social support and community building. The technology also uses a gamification approach to enhance training engagement and a social network system to help care partners better manage their stress.
Matt Golden, MapHabit CEO and Co-Founder explains: “The MapHabit System’s goal is to promote health equity and empower family care partners with education, cognitive engagement and habit-building techniques to be more sensitive to the needs of those in their care - as well as their own needs – by leveraging thoughtful decision making processes, and to be more innovative in their care strategies using individualized wellness plans.”
Through this grant, we will enhance care partner knowledge and combat social determinants of health to improve care partner quality of life, which will, in turn, improve the members’ overall quality of care and functional status. This integrative, easy to use, care partner-centric training program will be unique to the 53 million family care partners supporting neurodiverse populations.
About MapHabit
MapHabit is an interactive habit-building, education and cognitive engagement platform based in Atlanta, GA that promotes independence and enhances the quality of life for individuals that need additional cognitive support. Utilizing an integrated, visual mapping system, MapHabit provides key tools to better accomplish their activities of daily living, while providing oversight and peace of mind to the entire support circle, including care managers and providers.
For questions, contact Ebby Bowles, Director of Marketing at ebowles@maphabit.com.
About The National Institute on Aging (NIA)
The NIA leads the U.S. federal government effort to conduct and support research on aging and the health and well-being of older people. Learn more about age-related cognitive change and neurodegenerative diseases via NIA’s Alzheimer’s and related Dementias Education and Referral (ADEAR) Center website. Visit the main NIA website for information about a range of aging topics here.
