Networked reminiscence therapy for individuals with dementia by using photo and video sharing

ABSTRACT

Reminiscence therapy, which is effective for increasing the selfesteem of and for reducing behavioral disturbances in individuals with dementia, is usually conducted in a group led by experienced staff. However, due to the shortage of care attendants, only a limited number of patients at home can receive the benefits of this therapy. To provide this therapy for patients anytime or anywhere, we have developed a networked reminiscence therapy system that combines IP videophones with a photo- and video-sharing mechanism based on Web technology. First, we prepared the experimental setup in a hospital and examined whether dementia patients could communicate with therapists by videophone. Then we conducted a field trial of networked reminiscence therapy with a more realistic situation where remote volunteers communicated with dementia sufferers in the care home by IP videophones connected by broadband network. In this paper, we describe our developed system. Then, we present experimental results showing that dementia sufferers could communicate with therapists by videophone and that networked reminiscence sessions were generally as successful for individuals with dementia as face-to-face reminiscence sessions.

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  H. Information Systems
  H.4 INFORMATION SYSTEMS APPLICATIONS
      H.4.3 Communications Applications
          Subjects: Computer conferencing, teleconferencing, and videoconferencing

General Terms:
Design, Experimentation

Keywords:
IP videophone, dementia, internet, photo sharing, reminiscence therapy, web browser