Older adults with dementia or mild cognitive impairment sometimes struggle to remember daily tasks, including managing medications, shopping for groceries and tracking upcoming events, such as birthdays, anniversaries or doctor’s appointments.

In a recent study involving researchers at the University of Missouri and Baylor University, older adults with dementia or mild cognitive impairment were able to improve their memory by using a personal assistant application on their smartphones to receive reminders about upcoming events and activities.

Researchers at MU and Baylor studied older adults with dementia or mild cognitive impairment and tracked how they performed with various memory tasks for four weeks. The study’s participants were instructed to take photos at certain locations or to make phone calls on certain days.

The researchers trained the older adults on how to use a personal assistant application on their smartphones- similar to Siri- to provide reminders for these tasks, as well as other daily events or activities they may struggle to remember.

Researchers say the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an increase in technology use among older adults, and they are interested in evaluating if memory can be improved by technology-based interventions.