New networked technologies and carers of people with dementia: an interview study

Abstract

Dementia is one of the greatest contemporary health and social care challenges, and novel approaches to the care of its sufferers are needed. New information and communication technologies (ICT) have the potential to assist those caring for people with dementia, through access to networked information and support, tracking and surveillance. This article reports the views about such new technologies of 34 carers of people with dementia. We also held a group discussion with nine carers for respondent validation. The carers' actual use of new ICT was limited, although they thought a gradual increase in the use of networked technology in dementia care was inevitable but would bypass some carers who saw themselves as too old. Carers expressed a general enthusiasm for the benefits of ICT, but usually not for themselves, and they identified several key challenges including : establishing an appropriate balance between, on the one hand, privacy and autonomy and, on the other : maximising safety ; establishing responsibility for and ownership of the equipment and who bears the costs ; the possibility that technological help would mean a loss of valued personal contact ; and the possibility that technology would substitute for existing services rather than be complementary. For carers and dementia sufferers to be supported, the expanding use of these technologies should be accompanied by intensive debate of the associated issues.

Professional caregivers’ perceptions on the prerequisites for and consequences of people with mild dementia using a digital photo diary

“…Similar views were expressed by informal carers in another investigation, where network technology was considered to be something that would be more useful for the next generation [11]. In the same study, the necessity of having more information was also pointed out, as was a need for training and for ongoing support to enable those for whom the technology was intended to use it; again, this agrees with the statements made by the participants in the current research.…”

“…Different "digital solutions" have the potential to meet some of the needs of people with cognitive impairments and can be used to improve the quality of life of the ageing person with mild dementia [10][11][12]. Benefits like increased independence and a greater feeling of wellbeing are described leading to an improved quality of life brought about by the use of assistive digital devices [2,13,14].…”

Using mobile devices and apps to support reflective learning about older people with dementia

“…The right technologies used at the right times can be useful, but providing early information about these technologies to people with dementia and their relatives can facilitate joint decision--making about their use. And Powell et al [2010] reported the challenges perceived by caregivers about the introduction of computing technologies into dementia care -challenges that included the need to balance power and autonomy whilst maximising safety, reduce personal contact and complement rather than replace care activities.…”

Tailored e-Health services for the dementia care setting: a pilot study of ‘eHealthMonitor’

“…Interactive e-Health support services for caregivers have yet to become widely used in real-life healthcare situations in the dementia care setting. Based on the identified user needs, a result of a carefully and comprehensively determining the necessary requirements capture (which has been emphasized in previous studies [10, 12, 18–21]), the eHM Dementia Portal (eHM-DP) was developed for the home-based dementia care setting [22]. To our knowledge, our study is the first of a personalized and interactive web portal, aiming at empowerment and decision aid while considering the perspectives of caregivers and MPs.…”