@article{729ac7948b3644a6bd3736d0a2bbbb98,
title = "Designing the interface between dementia patients, caregivers and computer-based intervention",
abstract = "People with Alzheimer's Disease (AD) experience progressive degeneration of cognitive skills and the cumulative loss of short-term memory function. This severely impairs their ability to communicate with relatives and caregivers. The 'dehumanizing' effect that is engendered by the loss of communication skills, and the subsequent psychological and emotional distress experienced by people with AD and their caregivers are perhaps the most significant and detrimental psycho-social characteristics of AD. This paper demonstrates how our multidisciplinary, user-centred approach to design for computer-based assistive tools for people with AD can support progressive, non-pharmacological intervention and promote improved quality of life in dementia care environments.",
author = "Gary Gowans and Richard Dye and Norman Alm and Phillip Vaughan and Arlene Astell and Maggie Ellis",
note = " dc.publisher: Berg Publishers {\textquoteleft}Living in the Moment{\textquoteright} (LIM) is a three year, EPSRC funded project that investigates ways in which a computer-based, interactive system can support independent pastimes for people with dementia. The project is informed by the previous project CIRCA and has the same multi-disciplinary team construct (design, applied computing and psychology) using touch-screen technology and multimedia/interaction design to support intervention in dementia care. Gowans provided interface design expertise and was equally responsible with co-authors for content of the paper (ISBN 978-0-7546-7035-3). People with dementia-related cognitive impairment are usually at an advanced age and have little experience with contemporary technology, they typically experience progressive loss of {\textquoteleft}working{\textquoteright} or {\textquoteleft}short-term{\textquoteright} memory. CIRCA established that interaction with computers was a viable proposition for people with dementia but that system was designed for multiple users (ie a conversation aid). The principal idea behind LIM is to engage people with dementia in an independent positive pastime, thereby allowing short periods of respite for care-givers. Various themes and media have been tested eg selecting from a choice of short video clips of dog walking, boating trip etc; a virtual environment garden stroll, and a variety of games. Latterly the project moved towards a {\textquoteleft}positive gaming{\textquoteright} ethos, discovering that low level arcade-style games were generating a good degree of success. The research is informing a gaming model for people with dementia which considers levels of physical activity, degrees of challenge, prompting, rewards and user-sensitive adjustment (ie adapting the level of challenge based on performance). User-testing has been conducted throughout the design process, principally using remote web-cam observation.",
year = "2007",
month = mar,
day = "1",
doi = "10.2752/146069207789318018",
language = "English",
volume = "10",
pages = "12--23",
journal = "Design Journal",
issn = "1460-6925",
publisher = "Berg Publishers",
number = "1",
}