A technology-enhanced service for person-centered dementia care: Preliminary results from a field trial

Abstract

A growing body of empirical data demonstrates the positive health outcomes of person-centered dementia care. There exists, however, a gap in our knowledge about how to provide person-centered care in an efficient way. In this paper, we describe a person-centered activity-based dementia care service, and the ICT tools that we developed to enhance the efficiency of the service. The service supports a group of paid caregivers in providing person-centered dementia care to a group of persons with dementia. We conducted a four-month field trial of the service in a private service provider organization. Here we report our preliminary findings. The organizational model, supported by a structured method of service delivery and ICT tools, demonstrates the potential of cost-effective person-centered dementia care as an alternative to more conventional care organizations.