Take part in an online interview exploring augmented reality cues for people living with dementia

[ThomasWilliams]

Background
This opportunity is part of a research project exploring how augmented reality could help people living with dementia at home. Augmented reality allows digital content to be seen on top of the real world and has the potential to build on previous work exploring how task prompting can be helpful for people living with dementia. For example, augmented reality might be able to help people to complete tasks by showing them a visual cue of how the objects need to be manipulated in order to achieve that task, like moving something from one area to another. Your participation in this study will help us understand user perceptions of the augmented reality prompts we have developed.

Who is eligible to take part?
We are recruiting pairs of participants to take part in this interview. You can take part as a pair if:

• you are both at least 18 years old;
• you live together at home;
• one person has a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease or vascular dementia (or mixed dementia of both) and the other person is a close family carer providing regular support.

Participants must be able to express their opinions using spoken English. Anyone taking part must also have access to a stable internet connection and a device or computer with a microphone and camera. This could be an iPad or Android tablet, or a Windows or Apple laptop or computer, for example.

If you have a visual impairment that means you cannot easily watch videos online, then you are not able to take part because the interview involves commenting on the visual aspects of multiple videos. Also, you cannot take part if you have taken part in a study related to this project before.

What does the study involve?
You will be invited to join an online video call to discuss the information sheet. If you decide to take part, you will be asked to complete an online questionnaire in your own time before the interview. The main interview will be carried out online. You will be asked to watch a series of videos on your computer screen and to comment on what you see. The interview will take 1.5 – 2 hours.

What do participants get for taking part in the study?
All participants will be sent a £20 high street shopping voucher via post as a thank you for taking part. You will have the chance to learn about how an up-and-coming technology could help people with dementia.

When and where will the study take place?
The interview will be carried out online. You can take part from the comfort of your own home. If you are interested in taking part, then we will arrange a date and time that suit you. You only need to attend one interview.

How to take part
If you would like to take part, please contact Thomas Williams. Thomas is a doctoral research student at the University of Bath and is partnered with the charity, Designability. Find out more on Designability's website: https://designability.org.uk/news-and-insights/take-part-in-an-online-interview-exploring-new-technology-to-assist-people-living-with-dementia/

 

[JoeOk]

Just a note to say that this member has permission to post about their study

 

[kindred]

Just a note to say that this member has permission to post about their study

Thomas this sounds really interesting but have you had much experience of people with dementia? Things that sound as if they should be helpful digitally have a habit of perhaps being useful for the carer but not for the person with dementia. It is a condition that is not usually open to logic, even with prompts.
I wish you well and if I can help please contact me. I was my husbands sole carer for four years and I volunteer at the nursing home where he died.

 

[ThomasWilliams]

Thomas this sounds really interesting but have you had much experience of people with dementia? Things that sound as if they should be helpful digitally have a habit of perhaps being useful for the carer but not for the person with dementia. It is a condition that is not usually open to logic, even with prompts.
I wish you well and if I can help please contact me. I was my husbands sole carer for four years and I volunteer at the nursing home where he died.

Hello kindred, Thank you very much for your comment. My work builds on previous research that has tested a simple text and audio prompting tool with people living with dementia, which was useful for some of the participants living with dementia. I have a lot of experience working with people with dementia (both as part of my research project and more recently as a part-time care assistant in a care home) and am conscious that technology is not helpful for everyone. However, augmented reality is a relatively new technology and has potential benefits that other types of prompting don't have (for example, putting the prompt immediately next to the objects). My research is exploratory and aims to see what might work and what doesn't work for people living with dementia. Your comment is a useful insight into the perspective of carers, and I hope to hear from more people in this final study. Thank you again for your comment and offer to get in touch. With best wishes, Thomas

 

[kindred]

Hello kindred, Thank you very much for your comment. My work builds on previous research that has tested a simple text and audio prompting tool with people living with dementia, which was useful for some of the participants living with dementia. I have a lot of experience working with people with dementia (both as part of my research project and more recently as a part-time care assistant in a care home) and am conscious that technology is not helpful for everyone. However, augmented reality is a relatively new technology and has potential benefits that other types of prompting don't have (for example, putting the prompt immediately next to the objects). My research is exploratory and aims to see what might work and what doesn't work for people living with dementia. Your comment is a useful insight into the perspective of carers, and I hope to hear from more people in this final study. Thank you again for your comment and offer to get in touch. With best wishes, Thomas

Thank you, great to read this and all the best with your work.