Elderly & dementias: the role and contribution of apps

Abstract

In today’s increasingly digital society, there has been a growing offer of digital applications (Apps) for the most diverse areas. With regard to older people, Apps have emerged that aim to improve their quality of life by providing conditions for a better aging process. In this regard, the aging process promotes increasing cognitive and motor limitations among the elderly, as a consequence of a global degeneration of aging. However, it has been the dementias that have caused the most concern given their increase in the elderly. In this sense, it is intended to present the results of a qualitative research in an exploratory study with 11 institutionalized elderly, with mild cognitive decline and moderate dementia, in an institution of the municipality of Castelo Branco, which used the“MemoryLife” Appsand “Attention games”aimed at promoting cognitive stimuli in order to minimize their limitations as a result of their Alzheimer’s-related losses. Semi-structured interviews were also conducted with experts in technology, gerontology and dementia. The results of the ten practical sessions, held three times a week, showed that there was an improvement due to the direct and participative involvement of the elderly. These results were possible because the elderly had an active participation in the selection of the Apps used which enabled an easier and more systematic collaboration. On the other hand, it also refers to the importance of the institution in providing a collaborative environment that allowed to bring together synergies. Moreover, after content analysis, unanimity can be found in using digital resources that can have a positive action with elderly people with dementia. In sum, Apps had a positive action denoting a decrease in the dementia states of the elderly participants in the study, so it is advisable to use them more systematically to promote greater cognitive stimulation.