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What do people really want? meeting the needs of people with dementia and their carers through technology. Gail Mountain Director K-T EQUAL g.a.mountain@sheffield.ac.uk. Policy views of the contribution of technologies.
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What do people really want? meeting the needs of people with dementia and their carers through technology Gail Mountain Director K-T EQUAL g.a.mountain@sheffield.ac.uk
Policy views of the contribution of technologies A new healthcare delivery model based in preventative and person-centred health care systems. This new model can only be achieved by use of ICT, in combination with appropriate organisational changes and skills (EU Commission, Transformng the EU healthcare landscape towards a strategy for ICT for health, 2006) Person centred,responsive,adaptable services supported by new opportunities presented by electronic assistive technologies(Our Health, Our Care, Our Say DoH, 2006)
Listen to the Voices of People with Dementia “I'm not dying of dementia. I'm living with dementia.” “I want to keep going for as long as I can and when things are difficult I don't want to be left on the shelf or forgotten.”
The differing perspectives of people with dementia and carers The caregivers have a tendency to emphasise care issues such as management of ADL and IADL and safety....people with dementia report how difficult it is to find something to do, sleep or live with the insecurity that you do not know where you are and what time of day it is. Only a few studies were interested in the experiences of people with dementia. Topo, P (2007) Technology studies to meet the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers: a literature review. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 28(17).
Understanding the potential of self management for dementia In the early stages of the illness following diagnosis Mountain (2006), Dementia, The International Journal Involving both the person with dementia and their carer Gail Mountain and Claire Craig have been working with people with dementia to determine the content of a self management programme “Journeying Through Dementia”
What the consultation involved Individual interviews with people with early stage dementia and with their carers – interview format decided by the person with dementia (10 interviews conducted) A consultation group with people with dementia and their carers over six successive weeks (15 participants)
The consultation also offered new insights such as .... The feelings that can be triggered through the focus upon carer needs; Problem behaviours that tend not to be discussed; Managing dementia alongside other conditions
How might technology be used to assist with self management (1)
How might technology be used to assist with self management (2)
Technology across the whole dementia journey Early stages: to maintain cognition, orientation and safety, obtain support and for enjoyment Middle stages: To compensate for deficits and alert carers, obtain support and for enjoyment Later stages: for safety and for enjoyment
Examples of technologies developed to meet the needs of people with dementia
Living well with dementia Technology for enjoyment: a new area Recall and reminiscence e.g. digital story telling Socialisation e.g. social networking Comfort e.g. robotic pets
Use of existing technologies; for example digital scrapbooking I have just recently bought a computer program which will allow me to do digital scrapbooking. This is a wonderful invention for people such as myself who have a short term memory problem. It is easy to use. It is allowing me to go back to the myriad of pictures I have collected and stored on CDs to select the best for my "albums". Currently I am working on my Alaska album.
The main messages The needs of each person with dementia and each carer will be different and will change over time The person with dementia will have different aspirations and goals to those of their carer There will always be underlying complexity The abilities of the person with dementia should be nurtured for as long as possible
More messages Technologies are dependent upon associated interventions Better design facilitates use Requires creativity and openness to learn from people with dementia Don’t focus purely on self-care and safety. It’s important to have fun too!!
KT-EQUAL – a resource to assist with collaboration and idea generation • Collaboration across 7 universities • Commenced in January 2009 and substantively in October for four years • Led by an interdisciplinary group of research leaders • Recruited staff include research coordinators, a press officer and a lobbyist • Get involved by registering at www.equal.ac.uk