Readiness for Technology Use With People With Dementia

Abstract

Technology is believed to have a potential for supporting significant others of people with dementia but little is known of their experiences and views of technology. The aim of this study is to explore how significant others relate to technology and to their relatives with dementia as technology users. The focus is on both their own use of technology as significant others and the use of technology by their relatives with dementia. Individual interviews and focus group discussions were undertaken and analyzed using a grounded theory approach. The significant others showed an overall readiness toward using technology in their present roles. Technology use in daily activities was perceived to be an important means to keeping retained abilities exercised but could also be perceived as a possible threat to health if activities were oversimplified. The significant others asked for flexible technology not perceived as stigmatizing, to be integrated into existing habits.

Co-Designing Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Environments: Unravelling the Situated Context of Informal Dementia Care

“…Although many have suggested the importance of also considering ICPs in AAL research and development [15–18], the field has yet to address how these technologies might coexist with ICPs in the care of PwDs, as opposed to replacing the care they provide. In a qualitative study with ICPs, which followed on earlier longitudinal work together with PwDs [19], Rosenberg et al [20] found that ICPs showed overall readiness to use everyday technology to support their caring roles. In another study using home visits and interviews with PwDs and their ICPs, Wherton and Monk [21] identified dressing, medications, personal hygiene, food preparation, and social communication as potential areas for prompting and sensing technologies.…”

Risks as dilemmas for home care staff caring for persons with dementia

“…There is no consensus in the literature concerning the use of preexisting groups as focus groups (Barbour, 2005;Hofmeyer & Scott, 2007), although the use of such groups has been advised against, especially in marketing research (Hofmeyer & Scott, 2007). However, in health care research, Dahlin Ivanoff (2002) and Rosenberg, Kottorp, and Nygård (2012) successfully conducted focus groups with pre-existing groups. The participating home care staff had quite extensive experience working in home care services with persons with dementia (an average of ten years).…”

Smart-Home Technologies to Assist Older People to Live Well at Home

“…One assessed the effectiveness of smart-home technologies and was also assessed for its methodological quality [26]. Sixteen studies reported on feasibility or perception of smart-technologies [27][28][29][30][31][32][33][34][35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43]. Three studies, based on an observational design, described how smart technologies worked with various participants and often combined qualitative comments regarding feasibility [44][45][46].…”

“…Five studies were set in purpose built smart-homes or residences already incorporating smart-technologies [30,36,41,43,46]. Three studies used focus groups to discuss the potential for smarttechnologies and were therefore not based in any particular setting [27,35,39]. Consequently the settings for these studies were recorded as not applicable.…”