The LivingMoments device offers a service system that makes communication between people with dementia and their loved ones more tangible and enables a personal way of keeping in touch.
Individuals with dementia living at home and within the community are experiencing all kinds of changes in personality and behavior. In the early to later stages of most types of dementia, a person may start to behave differently as the individual abilities change. This can be distressing for both the person with dementia and those loved ones who care for them. A common change in behavior is having fewer social contacts and experiencing feelings of loneliness. As the person with dementia’s abilities change, it may also become difficult to operate devices such as mobile phones. The aim of this research project was to design and test new technological solutions that help individuals with early stage dementia to maintain social contacts. As a result, we designed LivingMoments, a communication device that makes contact between people with dementia who live at home and their loved ones more tangible. Relatives can send messages (these can be photos, videos or voice messages) via an accessible mobile application, after which the person with dementia (and partner) receives a printed postcard, and can then activate it in the device to view the vibrant content . The device is now being further developed and tested in practice. The wishes and needs of independently living people with dementia have been the starting point throughout the project.
Relevant literature and references
Kolasinska, A., Thoolen, M., Peek, S., Lu, Y., & Brankaert, R. G. A. (Geaccepteerd/In druk). Co-creating Design Opportunities for Social Technology in the Context of Dementia. In Dementia Lab 2021: Supporting Ability Through Design Springer.