Assistive Technology for People with Severe/Profound Intellectual and Multiple Disabilities

Does assistive technology contribute to social inclusion for people with intellectual disability? A systematic review protocol

INTRODUCTION

The aim of this review is to answer the following question: Does assistive technology contribute to social inclusion for people with intellectual disability? Previous research on assistive technology has focused on socioeconomic impacts such as education, employment and access to healthcare by people with intellectual disability. There is a need to consolidate evidence on the interaction between intellectual disability, assistive technology, community living and social inclusion.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

The review will consider studies from all settings: geographical, socioeconomic and care (institutional and community care), published in English. Studies reported in other languages with abstracts in English will be included if they can be translated using Google Translate, otherwise such studies will be included in the appendix. The review will include both qualitative and quantitative studies. The intervention in this review refers to the use of assistive technology to promote community participation or interpersonal relationships (social inclusion) for people with intellectual disability. The outcomes will be behavioural and social benefits of using assistive technology by people with intellectual disability. Enhanced interpersonal relationships and community participation by people with intellectual disability. Data analysis will be in two phases. The first phase will involve analysis of individual study designs separately. The second phase will be narrative/thematic synthesis of all study groups.

ETHICS

The review will not create any ethical or safety concerns.

DISSEMINATION

At least one peer-reviewed article in a leading journal such as the BMJ is planned. The findings will also be disseminated through a seminar session involving internal audience at Trinity College Dublin and within the Assistive Technologies for people with Intellectual Disability and Autism research programme.

PROSPERO REGISTRATION NUMBER

CRD42017065447; Pre-results.

Information and Communication Technologies for the Activities of Daily Living in Older Patients with Dementia: A Systematic Review

BACKGROUND

Significant innovations have been introduced in recent years in the application of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support healthcare for patients with dementia.

OBJECTIVE

In the present systematic review, our goal is to keep track of ICT concepts and approaches to support the range of activities of daily living for people with dementia and to provide a snapshot of the effect that technology is having on patients' self-reliance.

METHODS

We reviewed the literature and identified systematic reviews of cohort studies and other authoritative reports. Our selection criteria included: (1) activities of daily living, (2) ICT, and (3) dementia.

RESULTS

We identified 56 studies published between 2000 and 2015, of which 26 met inclusion criteria. The present systematic review revealed many ICT systems that could purportedly support the range of activities of daily living for patients with dementia. The results showed five research bodies: 1) technologies used by patients with dementia, 2) technologies used by caregivers, 3) monitoring systems, 4) ambient assistive living with ICTs, and 5) tracking and wayfinding.

CONCLUSIONS

There is a potential for ICTs to support dementia care at home and to improve quality of life for caregivers, reducing healthcare costs and premature institutional care for these patients.