VIPCare: Understanding the support needed to create affective interactions between new caregivers and residents with dementia

Abstract

Introduction In this paper, we study the support needed by professional caregivers of those with dementia, and present a first step toward development of VIPCare, a novel application with the goal of assisting new caregivers at care-centres in interacting with residents with dementia. Methods A mixed-methods study including two questionnaires, two focus groups, and seven co-design sessions with 17 professional caregivers was conducted to (a) understand caregivers’ challenges/approaches used to reduce negative interactions with persons with dementia, (b) identify the existing gaps in supporting information for improving such interactions, and (c) co-design the user interface of an application that aims to help improve interactions between a new professional caregiver and persons with dementia. A pre-questionnaire assessed knowledge of smartphones and attitude toward technology. A post-questionnaire provided an initial evaluation of the designed user interface. Results Focus groups emphasized the importance of role-playing learned through trial and error. The layout/content of the application was then designed in four iterative paper-prototyping sessions with professional caregivers. An iOS/Android-based application was developed accordingly and was modified/improved in three iterative sessions. The initial results supported efficiency of VIPCare and suggested a low task load index. Conclusions We presented a first step toward understanding caregiver needs and developing an application that can help reduce negative interactions between professional caregivers and those with dementia.