Digital communication support in interaction involving people with dementia.

BACKGROUND: People with dementia frequently suffer from communication disabilities, which usually influence their quality of life. The communication disabilities may affect a person's possibility to participate in interaction as a result of reduced ability to initiate new topics and difficulties in contributing new information to maintain the conversational topic. Technical aids have been proved useful to facilitate communicative activities by supporting memory and stimulating communicative initiatives.

PURPOSE: The aim of the present study is to further understandings of how digital communication support may be used in interaction involving people with dementia. A further aim is to investigate how participants experience communication with and without the use of communication aids.

METHODS: The study is carried out in a Swedish context, and three dyads of older women with dementia and professional carers participated in the study. The dyads interact in the home environments of the persons with dementia using tablet computers and two web-based applications with generic pictures, videos, and music files (Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Communication Aid, CIRCA) and personalised pictures and films (Computer Interactive Reminiscence and Communication University of Sheffield, CIRCUS). The data include twenty-one video recorded activities.

RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The applications appear to provide support for the dyads in finding things to talk about. The participants talk both about the material and memories associated with the material. The participants experience the use of communication aids as positive.