ELDERLY WITH TEMPORARY MEMORY LOSS: THE NACODEAL
SCENARIO
Authors: Bordoni L., Scocchera F., Sdogati C.
Co-authors: Ph.D. Javier Álvarez-Osuna, Carlos Alberto Catalina-Ortega,
Ph.D. Antonio Remartinez, Philippe Uziel, Estelle Ziegler
Keywords:
user needs, memory loss, new technologies, NACODEAL, elderly, AAL project.
Introduction and statement of the
problem/aims of the study: the memory represents
the ideal container of our experience; in the senile age this container often
becomes less efficient and meets more difficulty to acquire and store a large
quantity of data and information. NACODEAL has a dual objective: to
sustain and improve the quality of life of the elderly suffering with temporary
memory problems; to reduce the existing gap
between elderly and new
technologies. This paper describes the methodology and results for the project’s
Scenario Definition (SD) carried out in France and Italy, aimed at ensuring the
acceptance by end users of the services proposed in NACODEAL.
Literature review and/or conceptual approach: the methodological approach and the operative modality of SD are inspired by P. Schwartz e K. V. D. Heijden’s and the positive approach of the Appreciative Inquiry by D. Cooperrider and Gestalt Counselling facilitation techniques.
Methodology: the research used 3 inquiry tools: 1-face to face interviews with the experts of the elderly care and assistance sector; 2-focus group carried out with NACODEAL end-users and with caregivers; 3-semi-structured questionnaires submitted to the elderly. The combination of the 3 techniques has allowed to evaluate information and data, generating an analysis level very rich and profound of significant contents. A positive and facilitative language was chosen to conduct the inquiry, in order to favour the participation of target group and to valorise their contribution.
Results: the authors evidence a substantial opening by the elderly towards a technical device able to compensate their cognitive difficulties and assist them in their daily activities. The research has deepened some key dimensions, such as:
- What the elderly forget? (e.g. taking correctly the therapy, payments expiry, hydration);
- Which
are the resistances to ICT ? (e.g.
low schooling, ergonomic features, cost);
- What are the pros and cons
related to assistive technologies? (e.g. independence, health and safety, higher
self-esteem, stigmatisation, reduction of human contact);
- Which are the possible Extra
Services? (e.g.
entertainment, localisation, alarm);
- What
Accompanying Services? (e.g.
approaching NACODEAL, voice / remote assistance).
Discussion, conclusions, implications for practice: NACODEAL will be
an easy to use integrated device, with few buttons and
voice commands, with applications able to remember to the elderly the things to
do, how to do it, when and where to do it and to stimulate the cognitive skills
with exercises aimed at maintaining the current memory state. The questions still
open are about the risk of dependence on the device (is NACODEAL a support and stimulus for elderly
memory or a dispensatory memory tool?) and about the sensitive data that
it may contain (how to protect the sensitive
data in case of theft/loss of the device?).
A list of references (also in APA
style) will be added on a fifth page:
K. V. D. Heijden (2006), Scenarios. The art of strategic conversation. West Sussex, UK.
P. Schwartz (1996), The Art of the Long View. Broadway, New York, USA.
D. L. Cooperrider, D. Whitney, J. M. Stavros (2008), Appreciative Inquiry Handbook. San Francisco, California, USA.
[1] NACODEAL (AAL-2010-3-116) is a AAL project, running
from October 2011 to March 2014.