Designing cognitive supports for dementia

Abstract

This paper gives an overview of a PhD programme focusing on the design of cognitive prostheses to support people with mild-moderate dementia in the home. The approach taken involves two main phases. The first phase explores the problems that need to be addressed, from the perspective of professional carers, patients, and informal caregivers. The second phase focuses on designing a cognitive support that can assist patients through a specific activity. This paper reports the findings from the first phase (exploring problems of dementia in the home), and describes plans for the subsequent designing phase.