Alzheimer's disease affects some 5.3 million Americans, and that number is expected to double by 2050. To help caregivers of Alzheimer's and other dementia patients, experts at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC) have spent four years creating ThisCaringHome.org, an interactive, multimedia Web site that offers strategies on how to adapt homes to meet the behavioral and physical needs of people with Alzheimer's, as well as tips on products and a forum for sharing ideas.

The graphics-rich interactive Web site, which won the 2009 e-Healthcare Leadership Award, features videos, animations and photographs, as well as expert reviews of home furnishings and smart technologies. The 3-D animations, videos and text illustrate the complex process of changing the home to match the stage of the patient's disease. A social networking component enables caregivers to share information, ask questions and find support from the online caregiver community.

The Web site takes visitors on a "virtual" visit through every room of a house, demonstrating in detail how to deal with issues that might arise in the kitchen, bathroom, living room and bedroom. Best practices for safe bathing, how to install stove turn-off devices and timers, what lighting is necessary to soothe an agitated person and what to look for in a door monitoring device, among many other subjects, are addressed. Other sections include tips for reducing agitated behaviors and improving quality of life for those with dementia, such as playing favorite old songs, receiving an aromatherapy massage and playing with a docile pet.

Caregivers shoulder a particularly heavy burden as the illness alters the dementia patient's behavior, mood and judgment, impeding his or her ability to engage in normal, everyday activities, says Rosemary Bakker, research associate in gerontologic design in medicine in the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at WCMC, who created the site. A former caregiver to her mother, Bakker has put her first-hand knowledge to use in the creation of this Web site.

"Persons with dementia and their caregivers deserve better lives and more help with the everyday challenges they face," Bakker says. "When I was a caregiver, I learned that people with Alzheimer's experience the world differently than we do. Once you understand this, there is a lot caregivers can do, especially to the home environment, to help the person lead a safer, more functional and fulfilling life. And it makes caregiving less difficult and more rewarding. But without guidance, it's easy to get overwhelmed."

While ThisCaringHome.org is geared toward family caregivers, it is also intended to be useful for medical professionals, discharge planners, social workers and assisted-living facility managers.

"ThisCaringHome.org covers every conceivable subject that may arise for the person caring for the dementia patient," says Dr. Ron Adelman, professor of medicine, co-chief of the Division of Geriatrics and Gerontology at WCMC and director of the Irving Sherwood Wright Center on Aging at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center. "So often the caregiver feels that he or she is alone or that no one has encountered their particular problem before. The interactive nature of this site, and the very fact that it's visually engaging and easy to navigate, draws people into an extremely informative, online community that can help ease some of the caregiver burden."

The Web site was supported by several foundations, including the Alzheimer's Association, Helen Bader Foundation, NEC Foundation, Retirement Research Foundation and the Wallerstein Foundation for Geriatric Life Improvement.