The responses are collated from and restricted to existing resources tied to government bodies or trusted caregiver websites*. Some examples are caregiver guides and information from AIC, Dementia SG, MOH, SingHealth, Caregivers Alliance, Homage, and Jaga-Me. For specific guided paths (e.g. subsidies eligibility, personalized daycare options), we strenuously check all in-built information and paths. Furthermore, CareCompass+ incorporates Google reviews of Dementia Daycare centers and rank them accordingly in the interface output as a first-cut measure of general trustworthiness. *the conversational LLM is fine-tuned using a RAG framework on these resources, and has in-built heuristics to ensure it prioritizes and adheres to content from these trusted datasets.

A typical GPT/ChatGPT will only (i) give generic broad-based overviews**, and (ii) lacks suggested prompts, (iii) guided steps, (iv) value-added features. CareCompass+ provides bite-sized, curated options in a local context*, based on user profiles and tailored to their care needs and preferences. Beyond information, CareCompass+ also provides suggested use areas (e.g. making caregivers aware of subsidies), actionable steps (e.g. applying for subsidies), and other value-added features (e.g. tracking application status of subsidies). The eventual aim (see slide 10) is for CareCompass+ to become a handy “360 Co-Pilot” for caregivers, assisting them across various caregiving contexts. **the typical caregiver archetype Singapore is women in their 50s-60s, for which many might be unfamiliar with GPTs, or know-how on sophisticated prompt engineering to get useful information..

Currently, there are some caregivers that contact dementia daycare services proactively (without going through AIC) - 3 of our interviewees did, who found the personalized search useful. We have also spoken with AIC, and have received initial positive feedback from them that CareCompass+ does address a pressing need for many caregivers. If AIC is an eventual partner, CareCompass+ could be integrated as an AIC product offering to streamline the subsidy application process.

Yes, users can click to see full list of centres and info on them if they want to decide what’s best for themselves.

45 min saved per search, compared to using online search engines. Based on initial user trials on caregivers, taking difference between self-reported baseline (on average taking 1-hr to research online for suitable subsidies) compared to using CareCompass+ (15min, inclusive of set-up). WIthout CareCompass: Sourcing for Information We asked caregivers that we interviewed to give an estimate for how long it took them to find “useful information” for (i) suitable dementia daycare centers, and (ii) relevant subsidies they are eligible for (online, or via guides given by hospitals / AIC / social workers). Numbers varied wildly - anywhere from 2-hrs to 2 days! 2-hrs needed minimally to search through various websites, including 3-4 dementia daycare websites to check cost, amenities, transport, and proximity; as well as to such for subsidies listed on a few different websites (MOH, AIC, etc.; none have exhaustive lists) 2-day case was inclusive of calling the daycare center hotlines and checking in with friends and family for to ensure trustworthiness. As a lower-bound, we took 1-hr as the “average time per search” (since we asked for cumulative time for two search contexts). With CareCompass+: Sourcing for Information Next, we passed caregivers CareCompass+ and asked them to let us know when they felt that the information they found was satisfactory. We measured the time this took end-to-end, from the login/set-up till when they told us it was satisfactory (and note that you can “save” searches / info on the CareCompass+ platform itself) - this took anywhere from 5min to 15min! As a lower estimate, we then took 45min as the expected lower bound of time saved to find “useful information” per search. The intent is to continue to track this “time-saved” metric via inbuilt surveys. Additionally, other auxiliary issues solved were: Existing websites (MOH / AIC) do not have an exhaustive list of subsidies (e.g. no parent caregiving grant, or subsidies for daycare). Also, several links on the sites are expired. Asking social workers / personnel at AIC for daycare info was limiting, as they are not able to know in granular detail all the daycare centers near the caregiver and make appropriate recommendations

Real feedback from current/past caregivers of elderly parent(s) with dementia (names are placeholders to protect their identity): "all these features are very handy--the info on subsidies, daycare centres with google review info" Ms. Siti, 60, whose mother has moderate stage dementia "it's very aimless when you Google online, or random if you have to rely on knowing helpful doctors, nurses or AIC staff. with this app, I can see all the services and subsidies in one place, and it's personalised due to Singpass integration too!" Mrs. Linda See, 53, whose father was recently diagnosed with dementia "This brings me back to those years before when my mum was diagnosed. I wish this [app] came out back then, I would have saved a lot of time searching for resources!" Mrs Quek, 71, who struggled with caregiving for her late-mother who suffered from dementia "CareCompass can help me instantly get useful information on subsidies and daycare centres - saved me so much time and stress!" Ms. Liu, 60, whose father has moderate dementia

Caregiving prevalence: Almost everyone will become a caregiver at some point, especially in Singapore's aging society where familial caregiving norms are strong. Number of all Possible Caregivers (TAM): There are 1.8 million Singaporeans in the "sandwich generation" (ages 35-59), who might have to bear a burden of looking after elderly parents Number of Active Caregivers (SAM): There are currently an estimated 210,000 caregivers in Singapore, of which ~120,000 take care of elderly patients (MOH, 2023). Number of Caregivers of Dementia Patients (MVS): The number of dementia cases is projected to rise from 82,000 in 2018 to 152,000 by 2030. One in 10 people aged 60 and above in Singapore now suffers from dementia. Cost of informal caregiving: Caregiver burden: 53.4% of caregivers feel they are barely coping or burdened (NCSS, 2022). Hours of caregiving: Caregivers spend more than 60.5 hours per week looking after seniors (Duke-NUS, 2024). Job loss due to caregiving: 12,400 Singapore residents have left their jobs to care for their parents (MOM, 2022). Informal caregiving for seniors in Singapore costs $1.28 billion annually (Duke-NUS, 2020). Impact of dementia caregiving: Caregivers of dementia patients experience twice the burden compared to caregivers for other conditions (WiSE study, 2023), largely due to behavioural challenges Top caregiver challenges: Emotional stress and burnout: 67% Coping with disease progression: 57% Juggling personal and professional life: 57% (Dementia SG, 2024).

Demand for Dementia Daycare has been rising rapidly - almost 5x increase in attendance over the past 5 years. Likely mainly due to the rising number of dementia patients from an aging Singaporean society: number of dementia cases is projected to rise from 82,000 in 2018 to 152,000 by 2030. Yet anecdotally, from caregiver interviews / AIC / local online forums, information on dementia centers remains disparate and opaque (e.g. pick-up/drop-off services, prices, amenities, etc.) We chose dementia daycare as one of the “guided paths” for CareCompass+ for our MVP to solve this.

We posted several Reddit threads on r/askSingapore. Sharing it here, as we found the outpouring of useful advice from Singaporeans very heartening :), and also led us to choose daycare as one of the initial guided paths we built for our MVP. (Thread 1, Thread 2)