Using touchscreen tablets to support social connections and reduce responsive behaviours among people with dementia in care settings: A scoping review

Abstract

The use of touchscreen tablets, such as the iPad, offers potential to support the person with dementia staying in a care setting, ranging from a long-term care home to an adult day programme. Although electronic devices are used among people with dementia, a comprehensive review of studies focusing on their impact and how they may be used effectively in care settings is lacking. We conducted a scoping review to summarize existing knowledge about the impact of touchscreen tablets in supporting social connections and reducing responsive behaviours of people with dementia in care settings. Our research team consists of patient partners and family partners, physicians, nurses, a medical student and an academic professor. A total of 17 articles were included in the review. Our analysis identified three ways in which touchscreen tablets support dementia care: (1) increased the person’s engagement, (2) decreased responsive behaviours and (3) positive effect on enjoyment/quality of life for people with dementia. Lessons learned and barriers to the use of touchscreen tablets in the care of people with dementia are described. Overall, only a few studies delineated strategies that helped to overcome barriers to technology adoption in care settings. Knowledge translation studies are needed to identify effective processes and practical tips to overcome barriers and realize the potential of assistive technology in dementia care.

Understanding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on well-being and virtual care for people living with dementia and care partners living in the community

“…Remote support for social interaction for people living with dementia and care partners should be explored. There is evidence that tablet based interventions can benefit cognition and self-perceived quality of life for people living with dementia (Hung et al, 2020; Kong, 2020) and ongoing work is being made with integrating social robots into the care of people with dementia in the community (Hung et al, 2019; Korchut, 2017). Rapid implementation of these innovative technological solutions may provide one strategy to increase social interaction and improve well-being in times of pandemic public health restrictions.…”

A Tablet ‐ Based Intervention for Activating Nursing Home Residents with Dementia: Results from a Cluster-Randomised Controlled Trial

“…Regarding the digital infrastructure, previous research on the availability of communication technologies in nursing homes has identi ed the lack of internet connections as an important barrier concerning the use of ICT in nursing homes (84,85). Therefore, WIFI access points were set up in all the participating nursing homes prior to the intervention, to ensure that WIFI was available in at least one room of each facility.…”

“…Even though reduced levels of cognitive functioning and inexperience of PWD were considered when designing the application, we cannot rule out that the fact of simply being introduced to an unfamiliar device itself may have been overwhelming and excessively demanding for some study participants. In their scoping review of the use of touchscreen devices in nursing home residents with dementia, Hung et al (85) also reported implementation barriers related to the novelty of the technology.…”

“…Information and Communication Technology (ICT) devices such as tablet computers are affordable, widely available and offer a range of stimulating features, such as interactive communication or multimedia functions. This kind of technology has become increasingly popular in dementia care and could be an innovative tool for supporting NPI-delivery (21)(22)(23)(24)(25). Lazar,Thompson,& Demiris (26) found speci c bene ts of ICT for delivering reminiscence therapy, such as access to rich and engaging reminiscence material or opportunities to take part in social interactions.…”

Virtual special issue – Using touchscreen tablets for virtual connection

“…The first article is a scoping review conducted by Hung et al. (2020) that summarizes existing knowledge about the positive impact of touchscreen tablets in supporting social connections and reducing responsive behaviors of people with dementia in care settings.…”