  People with dementia (PwD) often present verbal agitation such as cursing,
screaming, and persistently complaining. Verbal agitation can impose mental
distress on informal caregivers (e.g., family, friends), which may cause severe
mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety disorders. To improve informal
caregivers' mental health, we explore design opportunities by interviewing 11
informal caregivers suffering from verbal agitation of PwD. In particular, we
first characterize how the predictability of verbal agitation impacts informal
caregivers' mental health and how caregivers' coping strategies vary before,
during, and after verbal agitation. Based on our findings, we propose design
opportunities to improve the mental health of informal caregivers suffering
from verbal agitation: distracting PwD (in-situ support; before), prompting
just-in-time maneuvers (information support; during), and comfort and education
(social & information support; after). We discuss our reflections on cultural
disparities between participants. Our work envisions a broader design space for
supporting informal caregivers' well-being and describes when and how that
support could be provided.
