Cognitive Reablement Using Digital Voice Assistants for People Living With Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment: A Co‐Design Study
Tracy Yiannis, Helen Macpherson, David Scott, Michele Callisaya, Caitlyn Gourlay, Ralph Maddison, Eugene Gvozdenko, Paul JansonsABSTRACT
Background
Digital health technology has the potential to increase access to home‐based reablement programmes for people living with dementia (PLwD) or mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to support everyday living. Digital Voice Assistants (DVAs) offer a possible solution to overcome usability issues with traditional technologies due to associated cognitive, motor and visual impairments. This paper describes the co‐design of a personalised reablement programme to be delivered via DVA.
Methods
PLwD or MCI ( n = 9), their care partners ( n = 9) and health professionals ( n = 8) participated in the co‐design via online workshops and semi‐structured interviews. Phases 1–7 of the IDEAS (Integrate, Design, Assess and Share) framework guided this iterative process to develop a product for future feasibility testing. Consensus on essential functions and features was facilitated using the MoSCoW prioritisation method. Transcripts were analysed using a modified thematic framework to inform the reablement programme.
Results
Thematic requirements of a cognitive reablement program to be delivered via DVA included (1) Daily Living (self‐care, household and cooking), (2) Activity Participation (leisure activities, home hobbies and ad hoc appointments), (3) Emotional Well‐being (social connection and coping strategies) and (4) technical requirements (activation, adaptable content, adherence, auditory processing, awareness and training).
Conclusions
The IDEAS framework successfully facilitated meaningful engagement from PLwD or MCI, their care partners, and health professionals to integrate user insights and feedback to co‐design a personalised reablement program via DVA for subsequent pilot feasibility testing.
Patient or Public Contribution
PLwD and/or MCI, and their care partners contributed by sharing lived experiences for researchers to gain insights; collaboratively identifying behaviours requiring support; creating ideas for solutions; feeding back on prototypes and prioritising program features and functions. Health professionals fed back improvements on prototypes, identifying potential barriers and solutions to implementation of the program.