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Guiding the Ethics of Locator Devices in Dementia Care: Tutorial on Developing a Question-Based Ethical Framework
Jared Howes, Yvonne Denier, Tijs Vandemeulebroucke, Chris Gastmans. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 2026-07-07
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
The resulting framework is organized around 3 themes-vision, process, and impact-each containing guiding questions that encourage dialogical reflection and decision-making. For "use," these questions help care communities clarify goals, define processes, and assess outcomes. For "development," they aid developers in articulating device objectives, anticipating risks, and aligning product features with end-user values. By providing guiding questions that can be adapted to local needs and contexts, this framework fosters a more inclusive, transparent, and ethically accountable approach to developing and using locator devices in dementia care.
Key findings
- The resulting framework is organized around 3 themes-vision, process, and impact-each containing guiding questions that encourage dialogical reflection and decision-making.
- For "use," these questions help care communities clarify goals, define processes, and assess outcomes.
- For "development," they aid developers in articulating device objectives, anticipating risks, and aligning product features with end-user values.
- By providing guiding questions that can be adapted to local needs and contexts, this framework fosters a more inclusive, transparent, and ethically accountable approach to developing and using locator devices in dementia care.
Why it matters
This tutorial presents an ethical framework organized around vision, process and impact to guide the development and use of locator devices in dementia care. It addresses ethical decision-making about technology and does not test any treatment, cure or prevention for Alzheimer's disease.
Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 40/100
Published in a peer-reviewed journal. Scored zero for study design, sample size, effect reported, studied in people and randomised / blinded because the record does not state it.
| Component | Points | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Journal tier | 7 / 10 | Tier 3 — peer-reviewed journal (Journal of Medical Internet Research) |
| Journal's citation record | 3 / 4 | Journal of Medical Internet Research: journal h-index 286 (OpenAlex, 2026-10-29) |
| Study design | 0 / 12 | No study design recorded — scores zero, not guessed (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Strength of evidence | 1 / 5 | Rated “low” in our summary |
| Peer-review validation | 10 / 10 | Peer-reviewed. Published as an article in a named peer-reviewed journal. |
| How recent | 5 / 5 | 2026 — within 1 year(s) of the newest study here |
| Sample size | 0 / 4 | Participant count not stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Effect reported | 0 / 3 | No effect size reported — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Studied in people | 0 / 3 | Not stated whether this was studied in people — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Randomised / blinded | 0 / 2 | No randomisation or blinding stated — scores zero (not stated in the record — scored 0) |
| Times cited | 1 / 7 | Cited 1 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 0 / 5 | 0.5 citations a year over 2 year(s) since 2026 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 15.1× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 0 / 6 | No other study in this library cites it |
| Still being cited | 0 / 4 | Cited 1 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 3 / 4 | Last-listed author Chris Gastmans: h-index 51 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | KU Leuven: institution h-index 1,386 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 2 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 42412959) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 40 / 100 | — |
What each of these 20 components measures, and what this score is not →
Read the original
- DOI: 10.2196/91667
- PubMed: 42412959
- Original source →
- Free full text: Journal of Medical Internet Research →
Full text: free to read — OpenAlex lists this copy as free to read: the link above (checked 6 Feb 1020).
Cite this study APA, Vancouver, BibTeX · download .bib or .ris
Built from the record alzhub holds for this paper, not looked up. Volume, issue and page numbers are not held in the record. Check the citation against the original before you use it.
APA 7th
Howes, J., Denier, Y., Vandemeulebroucke, T., & Gastmans, C. (2026). Guiding the Ethics of Locator Devices in Dementia Care: Tutorial on Developing a Question-Based Ethical Framework. Journal of Medical Internet Research. https://doi.org/10.2196/91667
Vancouver
Howes J, Denier Y, Vandemeulebroucke T, Gastmans C. Guiding the Ethics of Locator Devices in Dementia Care: Tutorial on Developing a Question-Based Ethical Framework. Journal of Medical Internet Research. 2026. doi:10.2196/91667. PMID: 42412959.
BibTeX
@article{howes2026-42412959,
author = {Howes, Jared and Denier, Yvonne and Vandemeulebroucke, Tijs and Gastmans, Chris},
title = {{Guiding the Ethics of Locator Devices in Dementia Care: Tutorial on Developing a Question-Based Ethical Framework}},
journal = {Journal of Medical Internet Research},
year = {2026},
doi = {10.2196/91667},
pmid = {42412959},
url = {https://doi.org/10.2196/91667}
}
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