Feasibility-Usability Study of a Tablet App Adapted Specifically for Persons with Cognitive Impairment—SMART4MD (Support Monitoring and Reminder Technology for Mild Dementia)

Maria Quintana, Peter Anderberg, Johan Sanmartin Berglund, Joakim Frögren, Neus Cano, Selim Cellek, Jufen Zhang and Maite Garolera
Additional contact information
Maria Quintana: Brain, Cognition and Behavior: Clinical Research, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, 08227 Terrasa, Spain
Peter Anderberg: Department of Health, Blekinge Institute of Technology, SE-371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden
Johan Sanmartin Berglund: Department of Health, Blekinge Institute of Technology, SE-371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden
Joakim Frögren: Department of Health, Blekinge Institute of Technology, SE-371 79 Karlskrona, Sweden
Neus Cano: Brain, Cognition and Behavior: Clinical Research, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, 08227 Terrasa, Spain
Selim Cellek: Faculty of Health, Education, Medicine & Social Care, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford CM1 1SQ, Essex, UK
Jufen Zhang: Clinical Trials Unit, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford CM1 1SQ, Essex, UK
Maite Garolera: Brain, Cognition and Behavior: Clinical Research, Consorci Sanitari de Terrassa, 08227 Terrasa, Spain

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-21

Abstract: Population ageing within Europe has major social and economic consequences. One of the most devastating conditions that predominantly affects older people is dementia. The SMART4MD (Support Monitoring and Reminder Technology for Mild Dementia) project aims to develop and test a health application specifically designed for people with mild dementia. The aim of this feasibility study was to evaluate the design of the SMART4MD protocol, including recruitment, screening, baseline examination and data management, and to test the SMART4MD application for functionality and usability before utilization in a full-scale study. The feasibility study tested the protocol and the app in Spain and Sweden. A total of nineteen persons with cognitive impairment, and their informal caregivers, individually performed a task-based usability test of the SMART4MD app model in a clinical environment, followed by four-week testing of the app in the home environment. By employing a user-centered design approach, the SMART4MD application proved to be an adequate and feasible interface for an eHealth intervention. In the final usability test, a score of 81% satisfied users was obtained. The possibility to test the application in all the procedures included in the study generated important information on how to present the technology to the users and how to improve these procedures.

Keywords: dementia; monitoring; e-health; feasibility study (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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