Could you help test apps designed to support people with dementia?
New apps provide one way to help people with dementia stay well, and they need volunteers to test them.
What could help people with dementia to stay independent and well for longer?
Researchers are exploring a range of answers, all of which need to be tested by people living with the condition to make sure they work in the real world.
One approach is to take advantage of devices most of us have to hand by creating helpful new apps.
These include an app that lets people know when they might need extra support or advice, and another to help stay fit and avoid falls.
Well at home
Co-Cog is a smartphone app co-created by people living with dementia, healthcare workers and researchers, funded by the Applied Research Collaboration KSS.
With its simple questions and optional games, people can monitor their own wellbeing at home. The idea is to pick up on changes where professional support could help sooner.
The research team co-designed the app with people living with dementia and healthcare workers across Sussex and Kent.
‘This enabled us to respond to issues people with dementia, cognitive impairment and caregivers felt were important, and adapt the way Co-Cog looked and felt,’ says Katherine Sykes, Implementation Lead for Living well with Dementia.
The researchers are looking for more people with dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to test the app over four weeks, supported by a relative or friend.