Planning for a Digital Academy for Welfare Technologies in Dementia Care

In Sweden, dementia care is part of the social services and includes home care and residential living. In recent years, there has been an extensive digitalization in the society, which also includes dementia care.

The purpose of the present project is to plan for an extensive research program around the development and use of digital welfare technology to improve the quality of life and well-being of people living with dementia (PlwD) and their relatives, as well as to facilitate everyday life for staff in dementia care (assistance managers, home care staff and staff in residential homes).

The planning project includes questionnaires to PlwD, their relatives and staff at different levels of dementia care, focus-group interviews with the same groups, and workshops with managers and staff in dementia care with the aim of identifying challenges, needs and possibilities with the use of digital welfare technology.

Based on the results we will plan for the development of new digital tools in collaboration with the development company Digitala Samtal with the aim of developing a prototype for an application.

The planning project ends with, in collaboration with the Swedish Dementia Center, planning for a Digital Academy for welfare technology, a platform where good examples of the use of welfare technology, digital tools and online training regarding welfare technology and dementia care are collected.

The grant provides added value since it enables enabling the planning of a larger research program based on the questions that are relevant to users and staff.

The project also enables the establishment of collaboration networks within the participating municipalities regarding activities targeting PlwD, which means that a larger research program can start fairly rapidly.

The planning project is relevant froma user perspective as well as from a societal perspective as it ultimately aims to contribute to increased social participation and reduced exclusion for PlwD.