EN Alzheimer’s from the perspective of formal caregivers: can digital technologies be useful?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.34620/eduser.v16i2.252Keywords:
Alzheimer’s dementia; Digital technologies; Formal caregivers.Abstract
Alzheimer's dementia leads to a progressive decline in the individual's cognitive capacity, interfering with activities of daily living. Applying cognitive stimuli in the early stages can add value to slowing cognitive decline. In this process, can the use of digital technologies help to avoid the use of medication and delay the institutionalization of Alzheimer's patients? Therefore, the general aim of this article was to identify their perceptions of the use of digital technologies in the cognitive stimulation of Alzheimer's patients with formal careers. To this end, an action research methodology was applied, researching the state-of-the-art digital technologies that could be used in Alzheimer's disease from the perspective of formal careers. Sixty-two formal careers participated in this study, 74.2% of whom were female and the rest (25.8%) male. All those interviewed can identify signs of Alzheimer's dementia in patients. Regarding working with digital technologies with Alzheimer's dementia patients, a large percentage of the interviewees (73.6 percent) replied that they only use them sometimes, and 26.4 percent said they never use them. The data suggest that there is still resistance or a lack of confidence in the use of digital technologies on the part of formal careers working with patients with Alzheimer's dementia. However, even if they have never received specific training in this area, especially in cognitive stimulation, we can admit this is understandable.Downloads
References
Abraha, I., Rimland, J. M., Trotta, F. M., Dell’Aquila, G., Cruz-Jentoft, A., Petrovic, M., Gudmundsson, A., Soiza, R.,
O’Mahony, D., Guaita, A., & Cherubini, A. (2017). A systematic review of systematic reviews of non-pharmacological interventions to treat behavioral disturbances in older patients with dementia. The SENATOR-OnTop series. BMJ Open, 7(3), e012759.
Arbor, S. C., LaFontaine, M., & Cumbay, M. (2016). Amyloid-beta Alzheimer's targets – Protein processing, lipid rafts, and amyloid-beta pores. The Yale Journal of Biology and Medicine, 89(1), 5–21.
Cale, L., & Harris, J. (2009). Fitness testing in physical education – A misdirected effort in promoting healthy lifestyles and physical activity? Physical Education and Sport Pedagogy, 14(1), 89–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408980701345782
Clare, L., & Woods, R. T. (2004). Cognitive training and cognitive rehabilitation for people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease: A review. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 14(4), 385–401. https://doi.org/10.1080/09602010443000074
Cummings, J. L., Tong, G., & Ballard, C. (2019). Treatment combinations for Alzheimer’s disease: Current and future pharmacotherapy options. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 67(3), 779–794. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-180766
Dubois, B., Feldman, H. H., Jacova, C., DeKosky, S. T., Barberger-Gateau, P., Cummings, J., Delacourte, A., Galasko,
D., Gauthier, S., Jicha, G., Meguro, K., O’Brien, J., Pasquier, F., Robert, P., Rossor, M., Salloway, S., Stern, Y., Visser, P. J., & Scheltens, P. (2007). Research criteria for the diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease: Revising the NINCDS–ADRDA criteria. The Lancet Neurology, 6(8), 734–746. https://doi.org/10.1016/S1474-4422(07)70178-3
Howard, M. C., Gutworth, M. B., & Jacobs, R. R. (2021). A meta-analysis of virtual reality training programs. Computers in Human Behavior, 121, 106808. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2021.106808
Immordino-Yang, M. H., & Damasio, A. (2007). We feel, therefore we learn: The relevance of affective and social neuroscience to education. Mind, Brain, and Education, 1(1), 3–10. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1751-228X.2007.00004.x
Jellinger, K. A. (1998). The neuropathological diagnosis of Alzheimer disease. In K. Jellinger, F. Fazekas, & M. Windisch (Eds.), Ageing and Dementia (pp. 97–118). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-7091-6467-9_9
Koumakis, L., Chatzaki, C., Kazantzaki, E., Maniadi, E., & Tsiknakis, M. (2019). Dementia care frameworks and assistive technologies for their implementation: A review. IEEE Reviews in Biomedical Engineering, 12, 4–18. https://doi.org/10.1109/RBME.2019.2892614
Li, X.-L., Hu, N., Tan, M.-S., Yu, J.-T., & Tan, L. (2014). Behavioral and psychological symptoms in Alzheimer’s disease. BioMed Research International, 2014, e927804. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/927804
Loi, S. M., Eratne, D., Kelso, W., Velakoulis, D., & Looi, J. C. (2018). Alzheimer disease: Non-pharmacological and pharmacological management of cognition and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Australasian Psychiatry, 26(4), 358–365. https://doi.org/10.1177/1039856218766123
Marquetand, J., Bode, L., Fuchs, S., Ernst, J., Känel, R. von, & Boettger, S. (2021). Predisposing and precipitating factors for delirium in the very old (≥80 years): A prospective Cohort study of 3,076 patients. Gerontology, 67(5), 599–607. https://doi.org/10.1159/000514298
Meijer, E., Casanova, M., Kim, H., Llena-Nozal, A., & Lee, J. (2022). Economic costs of dementia in 11 countries in Europe: Estimates from nationally representative cohorts of a panel study. The Lancet Regional Health - Europe, 20, 100445. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lanepe.2022.100445
Robinson, M., Lee, B. Y., & Hane, F. T. (2017). Recent progress in Alzheimer’s disease research, Part 2: Genetics and epidemiology. Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, 57(2), 317–330. https://doi.org/10.3233/JAD-161149
Rodríguez, D., Carrasquillo, A., & Lee, K. S. (2014). The bilingual advantage: Promoting academic development, biliteracy, and native language in the classroom. Teachers College Press.
Selkoe, D. J., & Hardy, J. (2016). The amyloid hypothesis of Alzheimer’s disease at 25 years. EMBO Molecular Medicine, 8(6), 595–608. https://doi.org/10.15252/emmm.201606210
Sharp, S. I., Aarsland, D., Day, S., Sønnesyn, H., Group, A. S. V. D. S. R., & Ballard, C. (2011). Hypertension is a potential risk factor for vascular dementia: Systematic review. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 26(7), 661–669. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.2572
Snowden, J. S., Neary, D., & Mann, D. M. A. (2002). Frontotemporal dementia. The British Journal of Psychiatry, 180(2), 140–143. https://doi.org/10.1192/bjp.180.2.140
Talbot, C. V., & Briggs, P. (2022). The use of digital technologies by people with mild-to-moderate dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A positive technology perspective. Dementia, 21(4), 1363–1380. https://doi.org/10.1177/14713012221079477
Van Cauwenberghe, C., Van Broeckhoven, C., & Sleegers, K. (2016). The genetic landscape of Alzheimer disease: Clinical implications and perspectives. Genetics in Medicine, 18(5), Article 5. https://doi.org/10.1038/gim.2015.117
Yamagata, C., Coppola, J. F., Kowtko, M., & Joyce, S. (2013). Mobile app development and usability research to help dementia and Alzheimer patients. 2013 IEEE Long Island Systems, Applications and Technology Conference (LISAT), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1109/LISAT.2013.6578252
Zucchella, C., Sinforiani, E., Tamburin, S., Federico, A., Mantovani, E., Bernini, S., Casale, R., & Bartolo, M. (2018). The multidisciplinary approach to Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. A narrative review of non-pharmacological treatment. Frontiers in Neurology, 9:1058. https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2018.01058
Zyda, M. (2005). From visual simulation to virtual reality to games. Computer, 38(9), 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1109/MC.2005.297
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 EduSer

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0645-6776
