Usability of films designed for people with dementia in a nursing home setting

The Perspective of Nurses and Healthcare Providers on the use of Television Videos with People with Moderate to Severe Dementia

BACKGROUND

Nurses and healthcare providers need practical tools to deliver person-centred care in hospitals and long-term care homes. Few non-pharmacological interventions are designed to meet the needs of people with moderate to severe dementia. Dementia-friendly television videos (TV videos) offer a familiar stimulation with the potential for meaningful engagement in the relational space of technology. TV videos refer to moving visuals with audio that can be shown on TV and other devices. They can be used for different purposes for people with dementia, such as stimulating memories and facilitating expressions.

PURPOSE

This study aims to understand the perspectives of nurses and healthcare providers on the potential function and practice considerations of using TV videos for people with moderate to severe dementia.

METHODS

We conducted five focus groups with 23 nurses and healthcare providers in a long-term care home and a geriatric hospital unit. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis and guided by Kitwood's person-centred care model.

RESULTS

Our analysis identified five themes about the use of TV videos: (1) calm the person with dementia who is in emotional distress, (2) form connections with the person with dementia, (3) bring people with dementia together, (4) facilitate the Person's Activities of Daily Living (ADLs), (5) help the person connect with their past.

CONCLUSION

TV videos should be designed to match the person's cognitive abilities, interests, and cultural and linguistic backgrounds. Our findings supplemented Kitwood's model by identifying the person's cultural and language needs.

Film as cooperative endeavour: The promises for people living with dementia, their relatives, caregivers and aged care staff

Creative expression by people living with dementia and their families and carers can improve communication and relationships and strengthen relational personhood. The transition to residential aged care from living at home with dementia is a time of 'relocation stress", and a time when additional psychosocial supports like these might be particularly beneficial. This article reports on a qualitative study that explored how a co-operative filmmaking project functioned as a multifaceted psychosocial intervention, and explored its potential impacts on relocation stressors. Methods included interviews with people living with dementia who were involved in the filmmaking, and their families and close others. Staff from a local day centre and residential aged care home also took part in interviews, as did the filmmakers. The researchers also observed some of the filmmaking process. Reflexive thematic analysis techniques were used to generate three key themes in the data: Relationship building; Communicating agency, memento and heart; Being visible and inclusive. The findings reveal challenges regarding privacy and the ethics of public screenings, as well as the pragmatics of using short films as a communication tool in aged care settings. We conclude that filmmaking as a cooperative endeavour holds promise to mitigate relocation stressors by: improving family and other relationships during challenging times for family and for people living with dementia; providing opportunities for new self-narratives derived from relational subjectivities; supporting visibility and personhood; and improving communication once in residential aged care. This research has relevance for communities who are looking to support dynamic personhood and improve the care of people living with dementia.

Cultural adaptation in television technology for older adults with dementia in care settings

Introduction

There is a lack of literature on the cultural adaptation of technologies for dementia care. This paper presents an example of the cultural adaptation of a television video about drinking water for older Chinese adults with dementia in care settings, in Vancouver, Canada.

Method

We refer to the cultural adaptation process (CAP) model to guide the cultural adaptation process by collecting and incorporating feedback from different parties into the culturally adapted video, including Phase 1 local consultations and information gathering, phase 2 iterative testing and adaptation, and phase 3 finalizing adaptation.

Results

We also referred to the Ecological Validity Model (EVM) to present the adjustments we made to the video from the cultural adaptation. We adjusted the video on seven domains suggested by the EVM: goal, context, content, language, people, concept, and method.

Discussion

We draw attention to the opportunities and challenges of the cultural adaptation of technology into a new community. Based on our lessons, we outline concrete suggestions about what aspects of, and how, cultural adaptation can be made to promote cultural inclusivity in technology development and implementation.

Remembering the past, enhancing the present and sharing the future: a qualitative study of the impact of film screenings in care home communities

Many care home residents lack opportunities for meaningful activity and social connection, resulting in poor physical and emotional wellbeing. Providing residents with varied activities and social opportunities can improve their quality of life. In this paper, we examine the potential for film to provide a meaningful, social activity. The limited existing research on film in care homes has predominantly examined the use of film clips and materials in stimulating reminiscence for people with dementia. In this paper, we adopt a broader, trans-disciplinary perspective of film, drawing on evidence from Film Studies that shared spectatorship has social and emotional benefits for the viewer. We offer the first qualitative study of care home residents’ social, emotional and embodied engagement with feature-length film and identify the key benefits of film in this setting. We ran social film screenings in two Scottish care homes over six weeks. Underpinned by psycho-cinematic theory, we collected and analysed observational data alongside interviews with care home staff and discussion groups with residents. Our findings identified three ways in which film screenings benefit residents and supports social connection: prompting reminiscence; enhancing residents’ experiences in the present; and creating a shared future and intergenerational connections. The paper offers useful insights into the rich potential for film to enhance the care home community, facilitate social connectivity and promote resident wellbeing.