Insights from an Exergame-Based Training System for People with Dementia and Their Caregivers

As a result of aging societies, the prevalence of dementia, and accordingly the need for care is increasing. The use of information and communication (ICT)-based technologies may facilitate and promote a self-sustaining lifestyle for people with dementia and their caregivers. In this article, the authors provide results from a design study of an ICT-based system to support activity and mobility for people with dementia and their care-network. The authors investigated practices, attitudes and the social contexts of 26 people with dementia and their caregivers and designed an ICT-based prototype system that was evaluated afterwards in a four-month evaluation study. Here, the goal was to assess usability, user experience and acceptance and to analyze the effects of system usage on physical, cognitive and socio-emotional conditions of people with dementia and their caregivers. Our results indicate that the system supports people with dementia and their related caregivers partly during their social and daily activities and improves their quality of life. Furthermore, results suggest that motivation, collaboration and cooperation among the parties involved were increased by using the system. Integration and social embeddedness of ICT-based systems into the daily lives of people is the key for long-term and sustainable use. However, the involvement of caregivers and stakeholders seems to be an additional facilitating factor for daily life integration and may promote long-term use.