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Pervasive assistive technology for people with dementia: a UCD case
Thorpe JR, Rønn-Andersen KV, Bień P, Özkil AG, Forchhammer BH, Maier AM.. Healthcare technology letters, 2016-11-02
Topic: Risk, prevention and care in population studies
Smart mobile and wearable technology offers exciting opportunities to support people with dementia (PwD). Its ubiquity and popularity could even benefit user adoption - a great challenge for assistive technology (AT) for PwD that calls for user-centred design (UCD) methods. This study describes a user-centred approach to developing and testing AT based on off-the-shelf pervasive technologies. A prototype is created by combining a smartphone, smartwatch and various applications to offer six support features. This is tested among five end-users (PwD) and their caregivers. Controlled usability testing was followed by field testing in a real-world context. Data is gathered from video recordings, interaction logs, system usability scale questionnaires, logbooks, application usage logs and interviews structured on the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology model. The data is analysed to evaluate usability, usefulness and user acceptance. Results show some promise for user adoption, but highlight challenges to be overcome, emphasising personalisation and familiarity as key considerations. The complete findings regarding usability issues, usefulness of support features and four identified adoption profiles are used to provide a set of recommendations for practitioners and further research. These contribute toward UCD practices for improved smart, pervasive AT for dementia.
Key findings
- Results show some promise for user adoption, but highlight challenges to be overcome, emphasising personalisation and familiarity as key considerations.
Why it matters
This user-centred design case developed and tested assistive technology combining a smartphone, smartwatch, and applications with five end-users with dementia and their caregivers. Results showed some promise for user adoption but highlighted challenges to be overcome, emphasizing personalisation and familiarity as key considerations.
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Study details
- Evidence strengthLow
How this study scored 41/100
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 (Healthcare technology letters) |
| Journal's citation record | 0 / 4 | Healthcare Technology Letters: journal h-index 44 (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 | 1 / 5 | 2016 — within 20 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 | 4 / 7 | Cited 62 times (OpenAlex, 2026-10-10) |
| Citations per year | 2 / 5 | 5.2 citations a year over 12 year(s) since 2016 |
| Impact for its field and year | 4 / 6 | Cited 18.7× the average for papers of its field and year (OpenAlex FWCI) |
| Cited by studies here | 2 / 6 | Cited by 5 other studies in this library |
| Still being cited | 2 / 4 | Cited 16 times in 2024–2026 (2026 still in progress; OpenAlex) |
| Senior author's track record | 2 / 4 | Last-listed author Anja M. Maier: h-index 28 (OpenAlex, whole career) |
| Institution's track record | 1 / 3 | Technical University of Denmark: institution h-index 1,023 (OpenAlex) |
| Multi-centre collaboration | 1 / 3 | OpenAlex lists 3 institution(s) in 1 country |
| Indexed in PubMed | 2 / 2 | Indexed in PubMed (PMID 28008366) |
| Free to read | 2 / 2 | Free to read |
| Total | 41 / 100 | — |
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Read the original
- DOI: 10.1049/htl.2016.0057
- PubMed: 28008366
- Original source →
- Free full text: Healthcare Technology Letters →
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
Thorpe, JR., Rønn-Andersen, K. V., Bień, P., Özkil, A. G., Forchhammer, B. H., & Maier, A. M. (2016). Pervasive assistive technology for people with dementia: a UCD case. Healthcare technology letters. https://doi.org/10.1049/htl.2016.0057
Vancouver
Thorpe JR, Rønn-Andersen KV, Bień P, Özkil AG, Forchhammer BH, Maier AM. Pervasive assistive technology for people with dementia: a UCD case. Healthcare technology letters. 2016. doi:10.1049/htl.2016.0057. PMID: 28008366.
BibTeX
@article{thorpe2016-28008366,
author = {Thorpe, JR. and Rønn-Andersen, K. V. and Bień, P. and Özkil, A. G. and Forchhammer, B. H. and Maier, A. M.},
title = {{Pervasive assistive technology for people with dementia: a UCD case}},
journal = {Healthcare technology letters},
year = {2016},
doi = {10.1049/htl.2016.0057},
pmid = {28008366},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1049/htl.2016.0057}
}
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