BabaCare: Testing a Care Copilot

NCT07689526 — Not applicable, Recruiting, 40 participants, Johns Hopkins University

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Registry	NCT07689526, acronym Baba
Status	Recruiting
Phase	Not applicable
Study type	Interventional; na, single group, masking: none, treatment
Enrollment	40 (Estimated)
Sponsor	Johns Hopkins University (Other); collaborators: National Institute on Aging (NIA), Baba Care, Inc.
Conditions	Loneliness, Mood
Interventions	AI phone companion (Other)
Dates	start 2026-07-13, primary completion 2027-06-01 (estimated), completion 2027-06-01 (estimated), first posted 2026-07-08, last updated 2026-08-05
Locations	1 site in United States

-Summary

Baba is a novel AI "care copilot" designed to improve emotional well-being, cognitive stimulation, and social connection through emotionally present conversations, proactive engagement, and personalized communication. Unlike many existing solutions, Baba operates through SMS text and voice calls, requiring no apps, Wi-Fi, or new devices, making it particularly accessible to older adults.

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+Detailed description

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the feasibility, usability, and preliminary impact of the Baba platform among older adults. This study will examine how older adults interact with Baba, how it integrates into the older adult's daily lives, and whether it contributes to improvements in well-being, cognitive engagement, and self-management. Findings will inform the feasibility of AI companions in supporting independent aging.

+Arms and interventions

Arm	Type	Interventions	Description
Receives calls from BABA	Experimental	Other: AI phone companion	Participants will receive daily or near-daily AI calls over a 12 week period.

AI phone companion (Other): Baba uses a fine-tuned large language model to hold conversations with older adults and analyze tone, sentiment shifts, and emotional cues. The system logs call summaries and risk flags for caregiver review and tracks changes over time.

+Outcome measures

Primary outcomes

Loneliness as assessed by the UCLA Loneliness Scale [12 weeks]: Pre- and post-pilot assessments will measure changes in self-reported loneliness (UCLA Loneliness Scale). Score range 20-80, higher score worse loneliness.
Mood as assessed by the Patient Health Questionnare (PHQ-9) [12 weeks]: Pre- and post-pilot assessments will measure changes in self-reported mood (PHQ-9 or GDS). Total score range 0 to 27, with higher score indicating more severe depressive symptoms
Mood as assessed by the Geriatric Depression scale (GDS) [12 weeks]: Pre- and post-pilot assessments will measure changes in self-reported mood Total score range 0-15, with higher score indicating worse depression. A score ≥ 5 typically suggests depression.

+Eligibility

Sex: All, ages: 65 Years to any, accepts healthy volunteers

Inclusion Criteria:

* Lives alone
* Responds "occasionally" or "most" to the exhaustion questionnaire:

  1. "How often in the last week did you feel that everything you did was an effort?"
  2. "How often in the last week did you feel that you could not get going?"
* Willingness and ability to regularly engage with Baba for 12 weeks

Exclusion Criteria:

* Significant cognitive impairment that prevents consent or participation
* Inability to communicate via SMS or phone
* Severe hearing or speech impairment precluding use of voice interaction

+Locations (1)

Facility	City	Country	Status
Johns Hopkins Bayview Campus	Baltimore, Maryland	United States	Recruiting

+Publications

Perissinotto CM, Stijacic Cenzer I, Covinsky KE. Loneliness in older persons: a predictor of functional decline and death. Arch Intern Med. 2012 Jul 23;172(14):1078-83. doi: 10.1001/archinternmed.2012.1993. PMID 22710744

+Investigators

Peter M Abadir, M.D., Principal investigator, Johns Hopkins University

+Funding

NIH grants: P30AG073104