{"id":3221,"date":"2022-10-31T10:07:06","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T10:07:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/?p=3221"},"modified":"2024-10-23T10:03:53","modified_gmt":"2024-10-23T10:03:53","slug":"reducing-isolation-using-co-creation-to-get-people-living-with-dementia-online","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.imperial.ac.uk\/ighi\/2022\/10\/31\/reducing-isolation-using-co-creation-to-get-people-living-with-dementia-online\/","title":{"rendered":"Reducing isolation – using co-creation to get people living with dementia online"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Two<\/p>\n

Our Helix Centre works to translate research into products that improve health outcomes. In this blog Alice Gregory, Designer at the Helix Centre, describes the creation of a ‘Digital Befriending Kit’ and toolkit as part of the Digital Inclusion Innovation Programme<\/a> run by the Greater London Authority and the London Office for Technology and Innovation (LOTI). This blog was originally posted online by LOTI<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Our <\/span>research<\/span><\/a> showed that during the pandemic people living with dementia and their carers were particularly vulnerable to the challenges of isolation, with their routines and community support they rely on stripped away. Alongside this, the rise in the use of technology made the gap between those who are digitally included and excluded greater than ever before.<\/span><\/p>\n

We saw an opportunity to take stock of the new digital skills and techniques developed for community dementia support, and translate them into new hybrid approaches to supporting people in the community, helping them remain living safely in their own homes.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>To undertake this project, we (the <\/span>Helix Centre<\/span><\/a>) partnered with LOTI, and our shared mission was to co-design and test new digital methods to better support people living with dementia.<\/span>
\n<\/span>
\n<\/span>In short, we worked with London boroughs and dementia support organisations to create a \u2018<\/span>Digital Befriending Kit<\/span><\/a>\u2019 intended to reduce isolation and boost digital inclusion. The Kit consists of an iPad, QR code reader app, iPad stand and Zoom Tickets, designed to help people to easily log into Zoom and online community groups. We tested the kit by running a pilot of a series of online group sessions using the kit. Two groups of people living with dementia and their carers took part in poetry, bingo, singing and drawing using the kit and Zoom, mostly successfully.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Throughout, we used a process of co-design where people living with dementia were integral in crafting the final outcome.<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

The pilot revealed that people can operate the kit and taught us tips for facilitating online groups for people living with dementia<\/strong><\/h1>\n

Here is what we learnt about the kit and online groups as a result of the pilot:<\/p>\n

1. Significant carer support was needed to join calls<\/h2>\n

Almost all participants had significant help from a carer to operate the kit and join the calls. Our hypothesis is that this was because carers felt it was easier to do it for the participant than to teach them and because they were keen for the participant to focus on engagement in the online group over worrying about the technology.<\/span><\/p>\n

2. Each part of the kit had their own elements of success
\n<\/span><\/h2>\n

All participants used the stand to hold the iPad and enjoyed having a Zoom ticket (printed invite). With another iteration of the design improvements could be made to the stand and Zoom ticket combination to make aligning the QR code even more reliable. Participants found the distinctive pink colour of the app icon easy to identify, remember and therefore click on as part of the process of joining a call.<\/span><\/p>\n

3. Not every person attended every week and there was some drop out<\/h2>\n

Of the 11 participants in the pilot, 2 did not attend any online community group sessions despite many attempts to support and engage with them (calling, offering to visit). Often even engaged participants had clashing appointments so of 6 participants it was reasonable to expect around 4 to attend each session.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Structured activities<\/h2>\n

For each week of the pilot a different structured activity was trialled, including poetry reading, listening to live music, playing bingo and drawing. <\/span><\/p>\n