Using a screening tool to evaluate potential use of e-health services for older people with and without cognitive impairment

Abstract

Objectives: E-health services are increasingly offered to provide clients with information and a link to healthcare services. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceived access to and the potential to use technologies important for e-health services among older adults with MCI or mild AD and controls. Method: The perceived access to and perception of difficulty in the use of everyday technology (such as cell phones, coffee machines, computers) was investigated in a sample of older adults (n=118) comprising three subsamples: adults with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) (n=37), with mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) (n=37) and controls (n=44) using the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ). The use of seven technologies important for e-health services was specifically examined for each subsample and compared between the subsamples. Results: The findings demonstrated that the older adults in all subsamples both perceive access to e-health technologies and potentially would use them competently in several e-health services. However, among persons with AD a lower proportion of perceived access to the technology was described, as well as for persons with MCI. Conclusion: To make the benefits of e-health services available and used by all clients, it is important to consider access to the technology required in e-health services and also to support the clients' capabilities to understand and use the technologies. Also, the potential use of the ETUQ to explore the perceived access to and competence in using e-health technologies is a vital issue in the use of e-health services.

Studies Involving People With Dementia and Touchscreen Technology: A Literature Review

“…The increased availability of touchscreen technology devices in everyday life, such as smartphones and tablets, has led to an increased consideration by health care professionals and researchers of their potential suitability for people with dementia [12]. This trend is set to continue as people are being diagnosed with dementia at a younger age, and coming generations will be more familiar with computer technology [13].…”

E-services for the social inclusion of people with disabilities: A literature review

“…Second, most of the studies used qualitative methods to conduct the research, but there is no information or report about how one might attempt to replicate the results of these studies with respect to how one might apply and re-use accumulated knowledge in other areas or applications. Third, e-health was the topic that dominated in all areas, and the domain in which some services have actually been implemented [23,27,32,35,37,46]. The studies reveal that e-services do seem to enable people with disabilities maintain their health [43] and/or increase their chances of being included in educational programs [52], or employment [49], and improved access to their community [21,22], even when there no evidence was presented on the impact that these services have had.…”

“…Frequently, the overall aim of these studies was to examine, evaluate, test, and propose designs for e-services that were aimed at maintaining the health status of persons with disabilities. Survey based questionnaires [23][24][25][26][27] and descriptions of the methods that are used to develop ICT-based applications as e-services [28][29][30][31] were the two most common approaches that were used in this category of study. These studies covered a wide range of issues and discussed, for instance, how screening tools can be used to evaluate the potential use of e-health services for older persons with or without cognitive impairment, (ii) the multidimensional analysis of the disabilities, (iii) the presentation of evidence concerning the digital divide in the use of the Internet [32], (iv) validation of the use of video teleconferencing technology in the assessment of PTSD [24], and (v) the intra-oral computer interface an learning [33].…”

“…In addition to reporting on different areas of e-service implementation, the publications, perhaps unsurprisingly, appear in a variety of different academic journals, including the Journal of Intellectual Disability Research [27,43,44], Ageing & Mental Health [23,45], Disability and Rehabilitation [25,46], and the Archives of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation [34,47,48].…”

Mobile Phones and/or Smartphones and Their Use in the Management of Dementia – Findings from the Research Studies

“…On the basis of literature review, the research studies concerning the use of mobile phones and/ or smartphones by patients with dementia can be divided into several areas according to their focus as follows:  studies concentrating on the adoption and usability of these devices by patients with dementia; [6,[8][9][10][11]]  descriptive studies depicting the development of potential mobile phone/ smartphone apps for patients with dementia; [12][13]  studies exploring the role of these mobile devices for the assessment and diagnostic purposes; [14-16]  studies focusing on the actual use of mobile phones and/ or smartphones by patients with dementia. [17][18][19] Thorpe et al [6] explored the adoption of smartphone and smartwatch use among people with mild dementia.…”