Technology supporting the everyday life of people with dementia

Abstract

People with dementia have increased needs for support when carrying out everyday tasks. Even mild forms of dementia are associated with a diminished quality of life, poor self-esteem, anxiety, and social isolation. Whereas in the past, technology research has largely focused on ensuring safety and security of dementia patients, the focus is increasingly on positively enhancing the quality of life of dementia patients living at home. More recent work, therefore, has adopted a needs-led approach to ensure that interactive devices are more usable and relevant to dementia patients. In line with this, the aim of the present study was to develop design concepts for technology supporting people with dementia in their independent living, based on interviews about the needs of users and their carers. The results show the need for both independence and social interaction as the main concern. From the carers’ point of view, technology for supporting social interaction is also seen as a major domain that technology development should focus on. A review of current research, the findings of our interview study, and resulting design scenarios are presented in this paper