Best Practice Guidance
Human Interaction with Technology in Dementia

themes: Development design

3.1

Practical, cognitive & social factors to improve usability of technology for people with dementia

Technologies are increasingly vital in today’s activities in homes and communities. Nevertheless, little attention has been given to the consequences of the increasing complexity and reliance on them, for example, at home, in shops, traffic situations, meaningful activities and health care services. The users’ ability to manage products and services has been largely neglected or taken for granted. People with dementia often do not use the available technology because it does not match their needs and capacities. This section provides recommendations to improve the usability of technology used in daily life, for meaningful activities, in healthcare and in the context of promoting the Social Health of people with dementia.
3.1.3
Health care technologies
3.1.3.7

Consider user-centred design in the development of computer-based cognitive rehabilitation programs for people with dementia

Guidance

User-centered design should be considered in the development of any technology or computer-based program for cognitive rehabilitation in people with dementia.

Explanation and Examples

User-centered design is a methodology applied in the development of programs or new technologies for cognitive rehabilitation in people with dementia. This design takes into account the target population from the beginning to the end of the development process, with the aim of investigating their needs and expectations, developing a prototype that meets these needs and evaluating the final prototype based on usability and user experience criteria.

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3.1.4
Social Health Domain 1: Fulfill ones potential and obligations
3.1.4.7

Advance care planning websites for dementia should provide information and fa-cilitate communication in a use-friendly manner

Guidance

An advance care planning website for people with dementia and their family caregivers should focus on providing information and facilitating communication, provided in a user-friendly manner.

Explanation and Examples:

Advance care planning is a process that enables individuals to define goals and preferences for their future care. Digital interactive tools, such as websites, that encourage reflection, communication and/or documentation, may support this group in the advance care planning process. However, considering the specific needs of people with dementia, it is important to develop tools that are adapted to this population. We conducted focus groups with family caregivers (serving both as potential users and proxies for people with dementia) and healthcare professionals caring for people with dementia, to determine their needs in terms of content of the advance care planning website and how this should be delivered. Some specific recommendations included:

  • An advance care planning website should focus on providing advance care planning information, including but not limited to advance directives, and offer guidance on how to start an ACP conversation.
  • To increase the accessibility and usability of the ACP website, the inclusion of a text-to-speech option, a print option, and the possibility to increase the font size should be considered.
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