MedTrace Logo

Touchscreen Technology and Art for People With Dementia in Care Homes

NCT03773016 · Status: UNKNOWN · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 12

Last updated 2019-03-22

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

The prevalence of dementia is rapidly growing worldwide, affecting 46.8 million people in 2015. The 2014 Alzheimer's Society report estimated that 311,730 people with dementia were living in care homes in the United Kingdom (UK). In care homes, people are more likely to be socially isolated and experience a lack of stimulation. It has been argued that access to meaningful activities is of high importance. One strategy that may engage older people in enjoyable leisure activities is the use of touchscreen technology. Previous research has indicated that people with dementia and care staff reported positive experiences when using touchscreen technology, showing improvements in quality of life, relationships and interpersonal interaction. A possible way to engage people with dementia with touchscreen technology could be through the use of the visual arts. Preliminary evidence shows the use of arts with this population to be beneficial in reducing behavioural symptoms, depression and isolation and make people with dementia more able to express feelings. The use of visual art activities in touchscreen technology is a promising idea, as positive results from interventions using these activities independently can be found in scientific literature. This intervention will consist of the use of two different visual art apps on touchscreen tablets with people with dementia living in care homes. Study data collection will take 8 weeks; four weeks will involve the execution of the intervention and four weeks for measurements. Participants will be supported to use the app twice-weekly, with a maximum of 8 individual sessions. So far, very little research on the benefits of visual art interventions on touchscreen devices has been made. Thus, there is a need to have more research on this topic. This study will add to research on this field, and its results could be valuable to care staff and people with dementia.

Conditions

  • Mild Dementia
  • Moderate Dementia

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Art apps

Participants will be split into two groups of 6 participants; each group will use one app for two weeks and then change to the other app for another 2 weeks. Participants will be supported to use the app twice a week, with a maximum of 8 individual sessions over the four weeks. The intervention will be delivered to the participants at a quiet room in the care home by two co-investigators, one will be the facilitator, and the other one will be the observer. The intervention is a 30-minutes of individual sessions, with 10 minutes of app use. The additional 20 minutes will include the setup of the equipment and preparation of the participant at the beginning of the session; and questions for the participants at the end.

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Nottingham

    lead OTHER

Study Design

Allocation
NON_RANDOMIZED
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2019-02-20
Primary Completion
2019-04-12
Completion
2019-04-12

Countries

  • United Kingdom

Study Locations

More Related Trials

Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT03773016 on ClinicalTrials.gov