Shaping the Development and Use of Intelligent Assistive Technologies in Dementia

2019 ◽  
pp. 130-144
Author(s):  
Elisabeth Hildt
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Codes Of Conduct ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
User Perspective ◽  
Future Directions

This chapter aims to offer some general thoughts on the development and use of intelligent assistive technologies in dementia. Based on an analysis of ethical principles and concepts, guidelines, recommendations, and codes of conduct in the field broadly construed, the text argues for an approach that takes the user perspective, in particular the users’ abilities, wishes, and goals, more clearly into consideration in intelligent assistive technology development and use. Although the reflections may have implications for caregivers, family members, and others involved in the care of persons with dementia, they are not so much intended to guide individual, patient-directed decision making as to address future directions for technology development and use in a more general way.

Involving people with dementia and their informal caregivers in the development process of assistive technology: Description and evaluation of a user-centered design (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Iris A.G.M. Geerts ◽  
Liselore J.A.E Snaphaan ◽  
Inge M.B. Bongers
Keyword(s):  
Focus Groups ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Field Study ◽  
Development Process ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Informal Caregivers ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
User Centered Design ◽  
People With Dementia ◽  
User Centered

BACKGROUND Despite the potential value of assistive technology to support people with dementia (PWD) in everyday activities, use of these technologies is still limited. To ensure that assistive technologies better address the specific needs and daily context of PWD and their informal caregivers, it is particularly important to involve them in all different phases of assistive technology development. The literature rarely describes the involvement of PWD throughout the development process of assistive technologies, which makes it difficult to further reflect on and improve active involvement of PWD. OBJECTIVE This two-part study aimed to gather insights on the user-centered design (UCD) applied in the development process of the alpha prototype of the serious game PLAYTIME by describing the methods and procedures of the UCD as well as evaluating the UCD from the perspective of all involved stakeholders. METHODS The first three phases of the user-driven Living Lab of Innovate Dementia 2.0 were applied to directly involve PWD and their informal caregivers through qualitative research methods, including focus groups and a context-field study, in the development of the alpha prototype of PLAYTIME from exploration to design to testing. After the testing phase, a total number of 18 semi-structured interviews were conducted with PWD, their informal caregivers and the project members of PLAYTIME to evaluate the applied UCD from the perspective of all involved stakeholders. The interviews addressed five of the principles for successful UCD and the appropriateness of the different methods used in the focus groups and context-field study. RESULTS Results of the interviews focused, amongst others, on the level of involvement of PWD and their informal caregivers in the development process, the input provided by PWD and their informal caregivers, the value of early prototyping, continuous iterations of design solutions and in-context testing, the role of dementia care professionals in the multidisciplinary project team, and the appropriateness of open- and closed-ended questions for obtaining input from PWD and their informal caregivers. CONCLUSIONS The description and evaluation of the UCD applied in the development process of the alpha prototype of PLAYTIME resulted in several insights on the relevance of UCD for all involved stakeholders as well as how PWD can be involved in the subsequent phases of usable and meaningful assistive technology development.

scholarly journals Involving older adults in technology research and development discussions through dialogue cafés

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Lund ◽  
Torhild Holthe ◽  
Liv Halvorsrud ◽  
Dag Karterud ◽  
Adele Flakke Johannessen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Research And Development ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Assisted Living ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Research Question ◽  
User Involvement ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Citizen Involvement ◽  
Advantages And Disadvantages

Abstract Background Citizen involvement is important for ensuring the relevance and quality of many research and innovation efforts. Literature shows that inadequate citizen involvement poses an obstacle during the research, development, and implementation of assistive technology. Previous studies have addressed the advantages and disadvantages of citizen engagement in health research and technology development, and there is concern about how to ensure valuable engagement to avoid situations where they don’t have influence. Frail older adults are often excluded from being active partners in research projects. The overall objective of this commentary is to describe a case where dialogue cafés was used as a method for involving assisted living residents in technology discussions, elaborating on the following research question: In what ways are dialogue cafés useful for directing research and development and for engaging residents in assisted living facilities in assistive technology discussions? Method Six dialogue cafés with assisted living residents as participants were carried out over a period of 3 years (2016–19). Reports that were written after each café by the group leaders and rapporteurs provide the material for the analyses in this paper. Results This study demonstrates an example of facilitating user involvement where the participants felt useful by contributing to research and discussions on assistive technology and where this contribution in fact directed the research and development in the overall Assisted Living Project. Conclusion This study demonstrated that dialogue cafés enable older residents at an assisted living facility to contribute with opinions about their needs and perspectives on assistive technologies. This negates the view of older adults as too frail to participate and demonstrates the importance of including and collaborating with older adults in research.

scholarly journals ‘That's for old so and so's!’: does identity influence older adults’ technology adoption decisions?

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (7) ◽  
pp. 1550-1576 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arlene J. Astell ◽  
Colleen McGrath ◽  
Erica Dove
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Technology Adoption ◽  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Scoping Review ◽  
Later Life ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
Final Yield ◽  
The Aesthetic ◽  
And Control

AbstractThe role of identity in older adults’ decision-making about assistive technology adoption has been suggested but not fully explored. This scoping review was conducted to understand better how older adults’ self-image and their desire to maintain this influence their decision-making processes regarding assistive technology adoption. Using the five-stage scoping review framework by Arksey and O'Malley, a total of 416 search combinations were run across nine databases, resulting in a final yield of 49 articles. From these 49 articles, five themes emerged: (a) resisting the negative reality of an ageing and/or disabled identity; (b) independence and control are key; (c) the aesthetic dimension of usability; (d) assistive technology as a last resort; and (e) privacy versus pragmatics. The findings highlight the importance of older adults’ desire to portray an identity consistent with independence, self-reliance and competence, and how this desire directly impacts their assistive technology decision-making adoption patterns. These findings aim to support the adoption of assistive technologies by older adults to facilitate engagement in meaningful activities, enable social participation within the community, and promote health and wellbeing in later life.

RAISE IT UP!! Youth Arts and Awareness

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Natasha Thomas-Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Young People ◽  
Social Transformation ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Community Leaders ◽  
Youth Engagement ◽  
Literary Arts ◽  
Systemic Oppression ◽  
Creative Self

RAISE IT UP! Youth Arts and Awareness (RIU) is an organization that promotes youth engagement, expression, and empowerment through the use of performance and literary arts and social justice activism. We envision a world where youth are fully recognized, valued, and supported as artist-activists and emerging thought leaders, working to create a world that is just, intersectional, and inclusive. Two fundamental tenets shape RIU’s policies, practices, and pedagogy. The first is that creative self-expression and culture making are powerful tools for personal and social transformation. The second is that social justice is truly possible only if and when we are willing to have transparent and authentic conversations about the oppression children experience at the hands of the adults in their lives. We are committed to amplifying youth voices and leadership and building cross-generational solidarity among people of all ages, particularly those impacted by marginalization. Though RIU is focused on and driven by the youth, a large part of our work includes helping adult family members, educators, and community leaders understand the ways in which systemic oppression shapes our perceptions of and interactions with the young people in our homes, neighborhoods, institutions, and decision-making bodies.

scholarly journals Conversations About Death and Dying, End-of-Life Care Plans and Preferences Between Aging Parents and Adult Children

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. 417-417
Author(s):  
Hyo Jung Lee ◽  
Jacobbina Jin Wen Ng
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Adult Children ◽  
End Of Life Care ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Life Care ◽  
Joint Decision ◽  
Aging Parents ◽  
Care Plans

Abstract This study aims to investigate whether attitude and perception on late-life death and dying, end-of-life care plans and preferences could be better understood from current values shared between aging parents and their adult children in the multi-cultural city-bound country, Singapore. We are in the process of interviewing 20 aging parent-adult child dyads. Up to date, six semi-structured interviews were completed and transcribed. We performed Content analysis to analyze the transcripts. Preliminary findings showed that both aging parents and adult children rarely discussed this issue, although parents had their own plans or preferences. The major barriers against open conversations about death and dying of aging parents include: the perception of not-yet time to talk about this issue (without knowing when the right time is) and tendency to have conversations about death in tandem with finances, but not death itself. Although specific end-of-life care plans or arrangements were not thought out thoroughly, aging parents expressed a high level of trust and reliance on close family members’ decisions regarding their end-of-life care. They tended to agree on joint decision-making process within family, even though adult children had no or unmatched ideas about their aging parents’ end-of-life wishes. This did not necessarily align with previous findings in Western countries, underscoring individuals’ control over their own death and dying process. Open conversation within family, family-involved advance care planning, or joint decision-making processes may be warranted to promote quality of life and death in older Singaporeans and well-being of their family members of all ages.

scholarly journals Not the ‘from the editors’: On guarding ‘topness’

Organization ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 135050842097209
Author(s):  
Hugh Willmott
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Value Orientations ◽  
Conventional Wisdom ◽  
Ethical Principles ◽  
Management Review ◽  
Evaluative Criteria ◽  
Specific Focus

The paper reflects on the experience of preparing a ‘From the Editors’ (FTE) editorial for The Academy of Management Review that went through a process of editorial evaluation prior to its rejection. It provides a detailed example of an encounter between orthodox and heterodox forms of scholarship, illuminating their distinctive value-orientations and forms of engagement. Its specific focus is upon evaluative criteria applied, accountability of decision-making and the mobilization of scholarly aspirations and ethical principles in the preparation and assessment of the FTE. Its intent is to stimulate debate on what it means to ‘challenge conventional wisdom’ – an aim that is broadly shared by ‘top’ journals in the field of management and organization.

scholarly journals How Did Italian Adolescents with Disability and Parents Deal with the COVID-19 Emergency?

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (4) ◽  
pp. 1687
Author(s):  
Silvia Faccioli ◽  
Francesco Lombardi ◽  
Pierantonio Bellini ◽  
Stefania Costi ◽  
Silvia Sassi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Healthcare Professionals ◽  
Family Members ◽  
Anxiety Symptoms ◽  
Rehabilitation Services ◽  
Disabled Children ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Positive Effects ◽  
Italian Adolescents

The COVID-19 emergency has imposed distanced education and has interrupted most rehabilitation services. Adolescents with disabilities have been isolated, and the burden on their families has been exacerbated. A cross-sectional survey was administered to adolescents with disability and to parents of disabled children to describe their experience during lockdown and their concerns or expectations about rehabilitation. A sample of 53 adolescents and 239 parents completed the survey. Adolescents were ages 13–18 years old (45.3% female). Most parents were between 35 and 55 years old (84.9% female). While 53.6% of the parents reported no positive effects of the lockdown, 92.5% of the adolescents expressed favorable consequences. The increased time spent with family members was judged positively by 27.2% of parents and by 64.2% of adolescents. Concern for their child’s disability was expressed by 47.3% of parents, while 73.6% of adolescents expressed concerns regarding the ban on meeting friends. In both groups, anxiety symptoms were correlated with the fear of contracting COVID-19 and with financial problems. Parents would have liked even more remote support from school and healthcare professionals, which was available for most participants. Thus, socioeconomic support, assistive technology and telerehabilitation strategies might help families with disabilities during a lockdown.

scholarly journals Normalizing Vision: The Representation and Use of Spectacles and Eyeglasses in Victorian Britain

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gemma Almond
Keyword(s):  
Assistive Technology ◽  
Cultural Context ◽  
Assistive Technologies ◽  
The Body ◽  
Visual Aids ◽  
Medical Texts ◽  
Victorian Britain ◽  
Victorian Period ◽  
First Time ◽  
Material Evidence

Abstract This study explores the representation and use of Victorian visual aids, specifically focusing on how the design of spectacle and eyeglass frames shaped ideas of the ‘normal’ and ‘abnormal’ body. It contributes to our understanding of assistive technologies in the Victorian period by showcasing the usefulness of material evidence for exploring how an object was produced and perceived. By placing visual aids in their medical and cultural context for the first time, it will show how the study of spectacle and eyeglass frames develops our understanding of Victorian society more broadly. Contemporaries drew upon industrialization, increasing education, and the proliferation of print to explain a rise in refractive vision ‘errors’. Through exploring the design of three spectacle frames from the London Science Museum’s collections, this study will show how the representations and manufacture of visual aids transformed in response to these wider changes. The material evidence, as well as contemporary newspapers, periodicals, and medical texts, reveal that visual aids evolved from an unusual to a more mainstream device. It argues that visual aids are a unique assistive technology, one that is able to inform our understanding of how Victorians measured the body and constructed ideas of ‘normalcy’ and ‘abnormalcy’.

scholarly journals FACTORS IMPACTING THE COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL OF TECHNOLOGIES: EXPERT APPROACH

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 410-427 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vaida ZEMLICKIENĖ ◽  
Alminas MAČIULIS ◽  
Manuela TVARONAVIČIENĖ
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Technology Development ◽  
Mathematical Statistics ◽  
Development Model ◽  
Commercial Potential ◽  
Early Stages ◽  
Expert Opinions ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Recommended Guidelines ◽  
Advanced Tool

In order to ensure the harmonious activity of the institutions engaged in R&D and to reduce the uncertainty of the commercialization of technologies, an advanced tool for verifying decisions on technology development at early stages of commercialization, i.e. an instrument for assessing the commercial potential of technology, is needed. The article is aimed at defining the importance of factors in the commercial potential of technologies with the help of expert research. To achieve the goal, the following tasks have been approached: (1) on the basis of the created system for factors in the commercial potential of technologies, to conduct expert research aimed at collecting information on the importance of factors in technologies; (2) to apply the methods of mathematical statistics in order to determine the compatibility level of expert opinions and the significance of factors. The system of factors in the commercial potential of technologies and the identified significance of factors can be used as recommended guidelines for technology developers, investors and potential owners in the decision-making processes of commercialization, investment or purchase of technology as well as at the next stage of research on the development model for assessing the commercial potential of technologies.

Asking the Stakeholders: Perspectives of Individuals With Aphasia, Their Family Members, and Physicians Regarding Communication in Medical Interactions

2015 ◽  
Vol 24 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-357 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Burns ◽  
Carolyn Baylor ◽  
Brian J. Dudgeon ◽  
Helene Starks ◽  
Kathryn Yorkston
Keyword(s):  
Family Members ◽  
Qualitative Description ◽  
Future Directions ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Know How ◽  
Speech Language Pathologist ◽  
Patient Interviews ◽  
Semistructured Interviews ◽  
The Family ◽  
Practicing Physicians

PurposeThe purpose of this study was to explore the experiences of patients with aphasia, their family members, and physicians related to communication during medical interactions.MethodFace-to-face, semistructured interviews were conducted with 18 participants—6 patients with aphasia, 6 family members involved in patient care, and 6 practicing physicians. A qualitative description approach was used to collect and summarize narratives from participants' perspectives and experiences. Participants were asked about experiences with communication during medical interactions in which the family member accompanied the patient. Interviews were audio- and/or video-recorded, transcribed, and then coded to identify main themes.ResultsPatients and family members generally described their communication experiences as positive, yet all participants discussed challenges and frustrations. Three themes emerged: (a) patients and family members work as a team, (b) patients and family members want physicians to “just try” to communicate with the patient, and (c) physicians want to interact with patients but may not know how.ConclusionsParticipants discussed the need for successful accommodation, or changing how one communicates, to help facilitate the patients' increased understanding and ability to express themselves. Over- and underaccommodation with communication were commonly reported as problems. Speech-language pathologists have a role to play in helping to improve communication during medical interactions. Implications for current speech-language pathologist practice and future directions of research are discussed.

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