ICT-based applications to improve social health and social participation in older adults with dementia. A systematic literature review

ABSTRACT

Objectives: Information and communication technologies (ICT) developers, together with dementia experts have created several technological solutions to improve and facilitate social health and social participation and quality of life of older adults living with dementia. However, there is a need to carry out a systematic literature review that focuses on the validity and efficacy of these new technologies assessing their utility to promote ‘social health’ and ‘active ageing’ in people with dementia.

Method: Searches in electronic databases identified 3824 articles of which 6 met the inclusion criteria and were coded according to their methodological approach, sample sizes, type of outcomes and results.

Results: Six papers were identified reporting the use of 10 different interventions with people with dementia. Qualitative studies (four) showed a benefit of the use of technologies to foster social participation in people with dementia. At the same time, barriers to a widespread use of these technologies in this population were identified. A quantitative study and a mixed-method study with quantitative outcomes showed that ICT-based interventions promote more social behaviours than non-technology-based interventions.

Conclusions: In the last years, several technological devices for living independently and fostering social health and social participation in people with dementia have been developed. However, specific outcome measures to assess social health and social participation are needed. Even though the analysed studies provided some evidence-base for the use of technology in this field, there is an urge to develop high quality studies and specific outcome measures.

KEYWORDS:

• Dementia
• technology
• social health
• social participation
• older adults

Acknowledgments

Ángel Custodio Pinto-Bruno, the corresponding author, had full access to all the data in the study and has final responsibility in the decision to submit it for publication.

Disclosure statement

Ángel Custodio Pinto-Bruno and Manuel Franco-Martín developed the original idea. Ángel Custodio Pinto-Bruno, Jesús Antonio García-Casal and Manuel Franco-Martín performed the search strategy, extracted data, and wrote the manuscript. Cristina Jenaro-Rio and Emese Csipke contributed to the drafts of the paper and provided valuable comments during the process of writing this manuscript. The authors have no competing interests.

Additional information

Funding

This review is part of PRIDE (Promoting independence in Dementia) a programme funded by the Economic and Social Research Council to research dementia care in the UK and EhcoBUTLER, a project funded by the European Commission H2020 [grant number 643566].