Comparing recent reviews about touch screen for Dementia with lessons learnt from the field

Conclusions were synthesised from recent reviews on (touchscreen)technologies and people with dementia and lessons learnt, using these devices in projects in the UK, the Netherlands and Canada. The combined findings provide a strong basis for defining new strategies for exploiting touchscreen technology for people with dementia

Comparing recent reviews about touchscreens for dementia with lessons from the field

Conclusions were synthesised from recent reviews on (touchscreen)technologies and people with dementia and lessons learnt using these devices in projects in the UK, the Netherlands and Canada. The combined findings provide a strong basis for defining new strategies for exploiting touchscreen technology for people with dementia

Use Of Touch Screen Tablets to Support Social Connections and Reduce Responsive Behaviours among People with Dementia in Care Settings: A Scoping Review Protocol

Introduction The disabilities associated with dementia make the adjustment to staying in a care setting stressful. Separation from family can exacerbate the effects of stress. The use of touch screen tablets such as an iPad may offer potential to support the person with dementia staying in a care setting. Although electronic devices are used among people with dementia for a variety of purposes, a comprehensive review of studies focusing on their impact in care settings for social connection and patient/resident behaviour is lacking. This scoping review will focus on the use of touch screen tablets to support social connections and reducing responsive behaviours of people with dementia while in a care setting, such as a hospital ward. Methods and analysis This scoping review will follow Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology. The review team consists of two patient partners and three family partners, a nurse researcher, a research assistant and an academic professor. All authors including patient and family partners were involved in preparing this scoping review protocol. In the scoping review, we will search the following databases: MEDLINE, AgeLine, Cochrane, CINAHL, PsycINFO and IEEE. Google and Google Scholar will be used to search for additional literature. A hand search will be conducted using the reference lists of included studies to identify additional relevant articles. Included studies must report on the impact of using a touch screen technology intervention that involves older adults with dementia in care settings, published in English since 2009. Ethics and dissemination This review study does not require ethics approval. By examining the current state of using touch screen tablets to support older people with dementia in care settings, this scoping review can offer useful insight into users’ needs (eg, patients’ and care providers’ needs) and inform future research and practice. We will share the scoping review results through conference presentations and an open access publication in a peer-reviewed journal

Improving accessibility for people with dementia: web content and research

The Internet can provide a means of communication, searching for information, support groups and entertainment, amongst other services, and as a technology, can help to promote independence for people with dementia. However, the effectiveness of this technology relies on the users’ ability to use it. Web content, websites and online services need to be designed to meet the abilities and needs of people with dementia, and thus the difficulties that these users encounter must be explored and understood.The primary aim of this thesis is to investigate web content accessibility for People with Dementia and develop recommendations for improving current guidelines based on accessibility needs. The secondary aim is to support people with dementia having a voice within research through development of accessible ethical processes.Qualitative data were collected with a scoping study using questionnaires about everyday technology use (people with dementia and older adults without dementia); and in-depth interviews to explore difficulties and web accessibility issues. A document analysis was conducted on Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (ISO/IEC40500:2012) for inclusion of the needs of people with dementia followed by review of Web Usability Guidance (ISO9241-151:2008) to consider how gaps relating to the unmet accessibility needs for people with dementia could be met. The scoping study found that both people with dementia and older adults without dementia use everyday ICT to access the Web. Both groups described difficulties with web interface interactions, which refined the research scope to web content accessibility. The interview data with people with dementia (n=16) and older adults without dementia (n=9) were analysed using Grounded Theory techniques. It was found that both user groups experienced the same types of difficulties using the Web, but that dementia symptoms could exacerbate the difficulties from usability issues (older adults without dementia) into accessibility issues for people with dementia. Navigation was a key issue for both groups, with a range of web content design elements contributing to accessibility issues with navigation for people with dementia. The document analysis found that the accessibility guidance did not address all the accessibility issues encountered by people with dementia. However, the usability guidance did address many of the accessibility issues for web content navigation experienced by people with dementia. The research provides recommendations for improvements to web content accessibility guidelines including content from usability guidelines, and amendments to current guidelines and success criteria. A new ethical recruitment/consent process was developed and tested as part of the research process and is recommended for use in future research to support engagement of people with dementia.</div

Quality of life and digital gaming technology: the benefits of a technology based intervention for community dwelling people with dementia.

Community dwelling people living with dementia are often at risk of experiencing reduced Quality of Life (QoL) as a result of, but not restricted to, social exclusion, isolation and malignant social positioning. It is therefore imperative that QoL is protected, supported and maintained to ensure that people can live well with dementia. However, whilst it is acknowledged that post diagnostic dementia support is integral for the maintenance of QoL, less is known about the sort of interventions that can promote, support and maintain it, within a community setting. The role of technology in dementia care is a growing area of research, and in recent years the use of digital gaming technology has emerged as a viable method to support health needs, care and rehabilitation. However, whilst the health and social benefits of using digital gaming technology, such as the Nintendo Wii (Nintendo Co LTD), Xbox Kinect (Microsoft Corp) and the Apple iPad, have been evidenced in other health research, there is a gap in knowledge surrounding the QoL benefits of this technology specifically for community dwelling people with dementia. To explore the potential benefits of a digital gaming technology intervention for community dwelling people with dementia, a multi method qualitative methodology with a nested quantitative element was utilised to collect data over a six week period, across 12 two hour weekly sessions, set within two community locations. Findings of the intervention called the ‘Tech Club’, which had 16 participants, illustrated two significant emerging themes. Firstly, that such an intervention can support and protect selfhood through providing opportunities to address self-esteem, efficacy and agency, thereby counterbalancing the fragility of selfhood. Secondly, that engagement in lifelong learning and teaching is possible through participation with digital gaming technology. These themes indicate that the QoL of people with dementia can be protected, maintained and enhanced through a digital gaming based mechanism which supports self and agency, increases a sense of citizenship and equity within this, and provides an opportunity for active social contribution through lifelong learning and teaching. This thesis makes an original contribution to knowledge by evidencing that a digital gaming technology intervention has QoL benefits for community dwelling people with dementia and that a psychosocial post diagnostic intervention using the Nintendo Wii, Apple iPad and Microsoft Xbox Kinect is a mechanism which can support the maintenance of QoL

Predicting cognitive fitness to drive with touchscreen DriveSafe DriveAware

Driving is a highly valued daily living activity easily disrupted by illness, injury, or age-related changes. General practitioners (GPs) are ultimately responsible for determining medical fitness to drive but lack valid and reliable tools. The desktop (original) version of DriveSafe DriveAware (DSDA) is a promising, valid and reliable test but it is not practical for medical practice. The concern of this thesis was the conversion of original DSDA into a touchscreen test of cognitive fitness to drive for GPs and occupational therapists to use in predicting patient driving performance without on-road testing. Because we were transitioning from a test administered and scored by a trained assessor to one where patient touch responses were scored in-app, we needed to develop an automatic data collection and scoring system that reflected the decision that would otherwise have been made by an expert-rater. We tested usability of the system with older adults then examined set scoring parameters to determine if these discriminated at-risk from comparison drivers. Results indicated the system we designed reflected the decisions that would have been made by a trained assessor. Next, we conducted a study to examine the internal validity, reliability, and predictive validity of data gathered with touchscreen DSDA. The criterion measure was outcome of a standardised occupational therapy on-road assessment. Rasch analysis provided evidence that touchscreen DSDA had retained the strong psychometric properties of original DSDA. However, results of a discontinued feasibility study indicated potential barriers to uptake of the test by physicians. Touchscreen DSDA may rather be a tool for occupational therapists to use in driver screening and addressing the community mobility need of their clients. Research indicates no there is no one best tool for screening fitness to drive. However, the thesis findings indicate touchscreen DSDA is one useful tool

ARCH 14 - International Conference on Research on Health Care Architecture - November 19-21, 2014, Espoo, Finland - Conference Proceedings

Healthcare Architecture has grown rapidly in recent years. However, there are still many questions remaining. The commission, therefore, is to share the existing research knowledge and latest results and to carry out research projects focusing more specifically on the health care situation in a variety of contexts. The ARCH14 conference was the third conference in the series of ARCH conferences on Research on Health Care Architecture initiated by Chalmers University. It was realized in collaboration with the Nordic Research Network for Healthcare Architecture .It was a joint event between Aalto University, Finnish Institute of Occupational Health (FIOH) and National Institute of Health and Welfare (THL International).The conference gathered together more than 70 researchers and practitioners from across disciplines and countries to discuss the current themes

Engaging older adults with age-related macular degeneration in the design and evaluation of mobile assistive technologies

Ongoing advances in technology are undoubtedly increasing the scope for enhancing and supporting older adults’ daily living. The digital divide between older and younger adults, however, raises concerns about the suitability of technological solutions for older adults, especially for those with impairments. Taking older adults with Age-Related Macular Degeneration (AMD) – a progressive and degenerative disease of the eye – as a case study, the research reported in this dissertation considers how best to engage older adults in the design and evaluation of mobile assistive technologies to achieve sympathetic design of such technologies. Recognising the importance of good nutrition and the challenges involved in designing for people with AMD, this research followed a participatory and user-centred design (UCD) approach to develop a proof–of–concept diet diary application for people with AMD. Findings from initial knowledge elicitation activities contribute to the growing debate surrounding the issues on how older adults’ participation is initiated, planned and managed. Reflections on the application of the participatory design method highlighted a number of key strategies that can be applied to maintain empathic participatory design rapport with older adults and, subsequently, lead to the formulation of participatory design guidelines for effectively engaging older adults in design activities. Taking a novel approach, the final evaluation study contributed to the gap in the knowledge on how to bring closure to the participatory process in as positive a way as possible, cognisant of the potential negative effect that withdrawal of the participatory process may have on individuals. Based on the results of this study, we ascertain that (a) sympathetic design of technology with older adults will maximise technology acceptance and shows strong indicators for affecting behaviour change; and (b) being involved in the design and development of such technologies has the capacity to significantly improve the quality of life of older adults (with AMD)

Mobile Measurement system for clinical diagnosis: A Transepidermal Water Loss Probe

Transepidermal water loss (TEWL) is commonly used as a surrogate marker for skin barrier function. Although current devices enable TEWL to be measured with ease and precision under controlled laboratory conditions, they do not yield reliable readings in an uncontrolled environment. This project aimed to develop a new TEWL device that is mobile, i.e. that would fit in the pocket and measure TEWL anywhere. For this, the prototype had to be portable, wireless and to have good autonomy. In addition the prototype performances were evaluated in terms of repeatability and sensitivity. The primary design is based on a closed-chamber to limit the effect of the environment. Moreover, the use of a fan to remove surface water and homogenise the micro-climate in the chamber was introduced. Mathematical modelling and measurements of water vapour and heat flux in closed TEWL chambers of a range of geometries was investigated to establish ideal sensors locations and blower flow rates. It was found that the fan decreased repeatability but increased sensitivity. In addition, it decreased coefficient of variation of measurements on moist skin, contrary to other TEWL chamber methods. Furthermore, lower fan speed yielded better precision. Finally, the gradient calculation is the crucial part of a TEWL measurement and Least Square Fitting was used to stabilise the readings and improve repeatability at the expense of computational speed. The work suggests that it should be possible to develop a viable new design that can generate measurements in the field that are easy to make and reliable but further work is needed to establish accuracy evaluation from a calibration with a fixed quantity of water and to develop a full commercial product