Best Practice Guidance
Human Interaction with Technology in Dementia

Guidance

To understand the ability of the elderly with cognitive impairments to use everyday technology observe the interaction but also ask about their views.

Explanation and examples

Via an observation (guided by the META), the person-technology interaction can be described in detail, e.g. does the person press buttons/the screen with an adequate force or are steps performed in a logical order. This can help to determine which elements of a specific technology are causing problems and might be particularly useful for designing intervention and the development of technology. Through a self-perceived report (S-ETUQ), the individual can reflect on a wider range of technologies and the impact of technology use to perform well in (in relation to) everyday life can be depicted. For example, if someone has problems using the ticket machine for public transport or the ATM, this might impact participating in society; if the individual has problems with using the dishwasher or vacuum cleaner, this might impact the hygiene and well-being at home.

Guidance

People with dementia can have difficulty finding apps for self-management, meaningful activities and social participation that match their needs, interests and abilities. A tool that helps them find such apps is therefore recommended.

Explanation and example

People with dementia often experience unmet needs in their self-management, meaningful activities and social participation. Apps and technological interventions can potentially help them fulfil these needs and also decrease the burden for caregivers.

The last decade many apps have been developed that can support people with dementia in managing daily life, engaging in activities and staying in touch with their social network. However, people with dementia may have difficulty finding apps that match their needs, interests and abilities, FindMyApps is a selection tool that aims to help people find, download and use apps for self-management and meaningful activities, which are dementia-friendly and meet their needs, interests and capabilities.

A randomized controlled exploratory trial into the effectiveness of FindMyApps showed that people with dementia who were offered this tool more frequently downloaded and used apps for self-management and meaningful activities than people who did not have access to this tool. This confirmed the usefulness of the tool. Therefore, a tool such as FindMyApps is recommended for people with dementia and their caregivers to ease the search for suitable apps.

Guidance

The academic community should dedicate more resources to develop and evaluate technology-driven solutions that support dyadic communication and foster social interactions in dementia caregiving dyads. Rigorous investigation is needed using standard, comparable measurements to demonstrate the effects of these technological solutions.

Explanation and examples

A systematic literature search was conducted to comprehensively describe technology-driven interventions to prompt communication and facilitate positive social interactions between people with dementia and their conversation partners. Titles and abstracts from three databases PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO, were independently screened by two researchers. Quality of the included studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool. Of the 18 papers included in the review, the technology most commonly used to facilitate social interaction were tablet-computers (n=7), social robots (n=5), and personal computers (n=4). Technology-driven devices not fitting into the three other categories were labelled as ‘other’ (n = 2). Results showed that the social technology helped: i) breaking the ice by initiating dialogue and serving as a conversational platform; ii) increase interaction frequency and duration by encouraging more involvement between the conversation partners; iii) better understand the person with dementia through reminiscence activities; and iv) reduce pressure on the conversation partner by making the communication more reciprocal. Although there is seemingly great potential in technology to facilitate social interaction and communication in dementia caregiving, the findings show that research in this area is still in an explorative phase. The diversity in study methodologies and few standardised instruments used to measure these outcomes point to a need for further research into development and validation of new assessment tools for positive outcomes in social health.

Guidance

Exergaming in day care centres can be implemented more successfully by making more than one employee responsible for it.

Explanation and examples

We have asked day-care centres for people living with dementia, which factors were important for successful implementation of Exergaming. Sometimes, only one person in the day-care centre was responsible for the Exergaming activity. If this person was not at the day-care centre, because he/she was ill or left for another job, the Exergaming activity often was forgotten.