Experiences of people with dementia and carers using ATT at home
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Examining the experiences of how and why people with dementia and their carers use assistive technology and telecare at home: An ethnographic study linked to the ATTILA(Assistive Technology and Telecare to maintain Independent Living At Home for People with Dementia) Trial
IRAS ID
143521
Contact name
Matthew Lariviere
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of East Anglia
Duration of Study in the UK
1 years, 8 months, 25 days
Research summary
We need to directly see and hear from people with dementia and their carers if we are to understand how their views and experiences affect whether and how they decide to use assistive technology themselves. Directly observing how both people with dementia and their carers deal with the devices would help with understandings about how they fit these devices into their daily life and how their relations with these devices may change over time. Observing and talking about this at the time is especially helpful with people with dementia who may be less able to use words as the illness progresses. To do this, the researcher will spend time and talk with seven pairs (each of one carer and one person with dementia) in the home of the person with dementia once every two months for a total of six visits in a year. The people who take part will be chosen from people already taking part in the ATTILA trial. Each visit will take between two and five hours. The data collected will be fieldnotes of what the researcher observes and audio-recordings from some of the conversations in peoples’ homes. The recordings will be transcribed. Data will be analysed using: narrative methods to gain peoples’ stories, thematic methods to examine the different meanings of experiences and discursive methods to examine ways in which people describe their experiences. Findings will be disseminated at academic conferences, visits to and workshops with charitable organisations, consultations with businesses, and in academic journals.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
14/LO/2244
Date of REC Opinion
16 Dec 2014
REC opinion
Unfavourable Opinion