Using touchscreen tablets to support social connections and reduce responsive behaviours among people with dementia in care settings: A scoping review.

The use of touchscreen tablets, such as the iPad, offers potential to support the person with dementia staying in a care setting, ranging from a long-term care home to an adult day programme. Although electronic devices are used among people with dementia, a comprehensive review of studies focusing on their impact and how they may be used effectively in care settings is lacking. We conducted a scoping review to summarize existing knowledge about the impact of touchscreen tablets in supporting social connections and reducing responsive behaviours of people with dementia in care settings. Our research team consists of patient partners and family partners, physicians, nurses, a medical student and an academic professor. A total of 17 articles were included in the review. Our analysis identified three ways in which touchscreen tablets support dementia care: (1) increased the person's engagement, (2) decreased responsive behaviours and (3) positive effect on enjoyment/quality of life for people with dementia. Lessons learned and barriers to the use of touchscreen tablets in the care of people with dementia are described. Overall, only a few studies delineated strategies that helped to overcome barriers to technology adoption in care settings. Knowledge translation studies are needed to identify effective processes and practical tips to overcome barriers and realize the potential of assistive technology in dementia care.

Creating a toolkit with stakeholders for leveraging tablet computers to support person-centred dementia care in hospitals.

INTRODUCTION: People with dementia may refuse care because they feel overwhelmed by an unfamiliar environment. Everyday technology such as tablets have the potential to support person-centred dementia care in hospitals. AIMS: We aimed to identify barriers and enabling factors in order to develop a toolkit to support the use of tablets in engaging individual and group activities, especially to play family videos, for hospitalized older people with dementia. METHODS: A participatory action research approach was employed. We facilitated staff focus groups and conducted interviews with stakeholders. A toolkit was developed based on participants' perspectives on how to support successful adoption. RESULTS: Our analysis identified two enabling factors: users' engagement in developing a toolkit for support and adapting implementation to meet local needs. Barriers included staff and family inexperience, mechanical instability of hardware, issues around privacy and data access, technology use and personalization of messages. The toolkit includes short videos, a brochure for family caregivers, and a pocket card for staff.Discussion and implications: Staff, family and patients start with varying levels of experience with the use of tablets, making education and support vitally important to implementation. Health organizations should involve staff, patients, and families to find practical solutions.

The experience of hospital staff in applying the Gentle Persuasive Approaches to dementia care.

WHAT IS KNOWN ON THE SUBJECT?: Although the seminal work of McCormack et al. (International Practice Development Journal, 2015, 5, 1) and Nolan, Davies, Brown, Keady, and Nolan () provides useful conceptual frameworks in person-centred care, research is needed to understand how theoretical concepts can be applied into practice to support dementia care. Also, evidence is needed to demonstrate the impacts of implementing person-centred care and staff experiences. WHAT DOES THIS PAPER ADD TO EXISTING KNOWLEDGE?: This paper adds to the emerging work that is providing a greater understanding of how team education in practice can make a difference in building capacity to improve dementia care. We offer timely evidence and useful insights into how an education programme, Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA), was implemented ("what worked" and "how") in a large Canadian hospital to improve knowledge and skills among staff in dementia care. The GPA education helped hospital staff enact person-centred care by cultivating shared values and a learning environment to change attitudes, practices and conditions for continuous practice development. WHAT ARE THE IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE?: Mental health nurses in advance practice are well positioned to lead dementia education and advocate for person-centred care in hospitals. Hospital leaders are responsible for providing resources to cultivate a supportive environment for continuous learning to ensure the workforce gains the capacity to meet the changing demands and needs of the ageing population. System support is essential for creating conditions to enable person-centred care. ABSTRACT: Introduction Hospital staff lacks knowledge and skills in dementia care. There is a need to understand how person-centred care theory can be operationalized in staff's practices to improve dementia care. Aims To describe the staff's experiences of learning and applying the Gentle Persuasive Approaches (GPA) to enact person-centred care in a hospital. Methods Mixed methods, including posteducation survey and focus groups, were used. Thematic analysis was conducted to identify themes that describe participants' experiences. Results Three hundred and ten staff and leaders in a hospital participated in the GPA education and completed a posteducation survey (n = 297). After 1 year, two follow-up focus groups were conducted with interdisciplinary staff (n = 24) across medicine and mental health programmes. Our analysis identified three themes to enable person-centred care: (a) changing attitudes, (b) changing practices and (c) changing conditions. Discussion This study contributes to the literature by providing evidence of how an education programme was implemented in a large Canadian hospital to build capacity for dementia care. Joint education for interprofessional staff offers value in enabling person-centred care. Implication Mental health nurses are in position to lead dementia education and advocate for person-centred care in hospitals. Staff need structural support to engage in team learning for practice improvement.

Use of touch screen tablets to support social connections and reduce responsive behaviours among people with dementia in care settings: a scoping review protocol.

INTRODUCTION: The disabilities associated with dementia make the adjustment to staying in a care setting stressful. Separation from family can exacerbate the effects of stress. The use of touch screen tablets such as an iPad may offer potential to support the person with dementia staying in a care setting. Although electronic devices are used among people with dementia for a variety of purposes, a comprehensive review of studies focusing on their impact in care settings for social connection and patient/resident behaviour is lacking. This scoping review will focus on the use of touch screen tablets to support social connections and reducing responsive behaviours of people with dementia while in a care setting, such as a hospital ward. METHODS AND ANALYSIS: This scoping review will follow Joanna Briggs Institute scoping review methodology. The review team consists of two patient partners and three family partners, a nurse researcher, a research assistant and an academic professor. All authors including patient and family partners were involved in preparing this scoping review protocol. In the scoping review, we will search the following databases: MEDLINE, AgeLine, Cochrane, CINAHL, PsycINFO and IEEE. Google and Google Scholar will be used to search for additional literature. A hand search will be conducted using the reference lists of included studies to identify additional relevant articles. Included studies must report on the impact of using a touch screen technology intervention that involves older adults with dementia in care settings, published in English since 2009. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION: This review study does not require ethics approval. By examining the current state of using touch screen tablets to support older people with dementia in care settings, this scoping review can offer useful insight into users' needs (eg, patients' and care providers' needs) and inform future research and practice. We will share the scoping review results through conference presentations and an open access publication in a peer-reviewed journal.