Supporting time orientation of elderly with dementia by visualizing their daily schedule and reminding them of appointments with the Wijstijd.
The number of elderly living with dementia is expected to grow over the coming years. Last year, 2016, 70% of the people with dementia lived at home and was being taken care of by an informal caregiver (Alzheimer Nederland, 2016). An informal caregiver improves the quality of life for a person with dementia, which allows them to stay at home (Hattink et al., 2016). Unfortunately, they carry a heavy burden, which is one of the biggest reasons for a person with dementia to go to a nursing home (Alzheimer Nederland, 2016).
The Wijstijd is a product that focusses on supporting the person with dementia to be more independent and thereby reducing the care burden for the informal caregiver. The problems it addresses surround the difficulties people with dementia experience regarding time orientation. Some common difficulties are planning or organizing, forgetting things someone has just read and a decrease in the awareness of time.(Alzheimer Association, 2016 & Alzheimer Nederland 2016).
The Wijstijd was developed in collaboration with Qwiek and the help of the elderly and staff of Vitalis and GGzE. With coaching from Rens Brankaert.
Relevant literature and references
Alzheimer Association(2016), What is Alzheimer?, Retrieved 1 October 206 from: http://www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_stages_of_alzheimers.asp
Alzheimer Nederland (2016), Factsheet; Cijfers en feiten over dementie.
Alzheimer Nederland (2016), Symptomen van dementie, Retrieved 1 October 2016 from: https://www.alzheimer-nederland.nl/dementie/herkennen-symptomen/symptomen
Hattink, B. J. J., Meiland, F. J. M., Overmars-Marx, T., de Boer, M., Ebben, P. W. G., van Blanken, M., … & v/d Leeuw, J. (2016). The electronic, personalizable Rosetta system for dementia care: exploring the user-friendliness, usefulness and impact. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 11(1), 61-71.