Evaluation of an assisted‐living smart home for someone with dementia

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a study evaluating a complete autonomous smart home installation in an apartment in a care home, and the impact it had on the behaviour and independence of someone with quite severe dementia (Mini Mental State Examination, or MMSE, of 10). It describes the technology that has been evolved for this purpose, and how the apartment was configured. The evaluation compared the behaviour of the resident before and after the switching on of a wide range of autonomous support technology, by analysing the logged sensor data, through a questionnaire‐based outcome measure, and through transcribed interviews. The technology enabled the client to retain a lot of independence. It helped him to regain urinary continence, improved his sleep from around 3.5 hours per night to 5.5, and halved the number of night‐time wanderings. The paper concludes with a series of recommendations for future work in this area.

Citation

Orpwood, R., Adlam, T., Evans, N., Chadd, J. and Self, D. (2008), "Evaluation of an assisted‐living smart home for someone with dementia", Journal of Assistive Technologies, Vol. 2 No. 2, pp. 13-21. https://doi.org/10.1108/17549450200800014