Background: Dementia poses significant and sustained challenges to global society. Diagnosis can lead to increased feelings of loneliness and social isolation. People with dementia living alone are particularly at risk. Considering the growing number of technologies proposed to aid people with dementia address social isolation and loneliness, we reviewed the existing literature.Objective: To collate and summarize current evidence for digital technologies to prevent social isolation and loneliness for people with dementia.Methods: Following the PRISMA guidelines, we systematically searched five databases to identify studies of digital technologies designed to support or prevent social isolation or loneliness for people with dementia. Pre-specified outcomes included social isolation, loneliness, and quality of life. We used deductive thematic analysis to synthesize the major themes emerging from the studies.Results: Ten studies met our inclusion criteria where all studies reported improvements in quality of life and seven reported benefits regarding social inclusion or a reduction in loneliness. Technologies were varied across purpose, delivery format, theoretical models, and levels of personalization. Two studies clearly described the involvement of people with dementia in the study design and five technologies were available outside the research context. Conclusion:There is limited-but increasing-evidence that technologies hold potential to improve quality of life and reduce isolation/loneliness for people with dementia. Results presented are largely based in small-scale research studies. Involvement of people with dementia was limited and few research concepts are reaching implementation. Closer collaboration with people with dementia to provide affordable, inclusive, and person-centered solutions is urgently required.
BACKGROUND Remote collection of digital self-reported data is becoming more prevalent in health care practice as services adopt a more person-centred care approach and deliver more care at a distance. Whilst the benefits of collecting such data using digital technologies is increasingly being recognised, this can be problematic for People with Dementia who may have additional barriers to self-reporting, especially amongst a population that has traditionally been less technologically literate. OBJECTIVE To review the current literature on digital technologies, tools and modalities have been used to collect self-report data in People with Dementia (PwD) and to identify barriers and enablers that influence the ability of PwD to self-report successfully. METHODS A narrative review of the literature between 2010 and 2021 was conducted using key search teams across 3 scientific databases, (SCOPUS, PubMed and ACM Digital library). Only studies reporting on PwD using technology for the purpose of self-reporting were included. Articles meeting the inclusion criteria were analysed using Braun and Clarke’s thematic analysis. RESULTS A total of 11 articles met our prespecified inclusion criteria. Identified articles demonstrated a prominence for the use of computers over other types of technologies such as mobile phones. Text based modalities were the most common modality used. The most frequently reported tools used were questionnaires including the use of multiple PROMS. Enablers identified included support from informal carers, appropriate set-up at the start of each intervention and offering multiple alternative methods to self-report. Most studies did not identify any significant barriers. CONCLUSIONS There is a surprisingly sparse body of literature focused on digital approaches to enable self-reporting from PwD. A clear focus for the field has been the reliance on traditional text-based data collection via a computer whereas approaches making use of more interactive modalities or mobile and smart technology were relatively understudied. As the societal need to deliver person centered care in dementia will continue to grow, it is critical that future technologies are built and implemented in a manner that combines: the breadth of technological, data and modality possibilities with the founding theories of personhood.
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