We investigate how affective touch and technology, such as robotic pets, can contribute to connectedness and emotional support for people with dementia, with an emphasis on the impact during all stages of the disease.
People with dementia may become isolated or lonely due to the direct and indirect consequences of their declining cognitive abilities and the loss of a partner and loved ones. Warm technology is a concept that promotes connection and stimulates emotional support. In this study, we explore and describe the need for affective presence to provide the experience of togetherness, specifically through the use of affective touch. The unique properties of affective touch to create and experience mediated affective presence for people with dementia are studied, in different contexts and at all stages of the disease. Methods include a literature review, observations, interviews and surveys. In addition to non-mediated interpersonal touch, the effects of mediated and simulated touch are also investigated. This work comprises a longitudinal study into the potential psychosocial health benefits that affective presence technology, specifically robotic pets as companions, offers for people with dementia. The relevance of this research has become clear in recent years, as the global COVID pandemic and associated social distancing measures have highlighted the importance of physical proximity and interpersonal touch.
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