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Patient and public involvement helps to improve dementia research

Patient and public involvement helps to improve dementia research

Dementia researchers think that the growing number of mobile phones, watches and electronic devices which can be worn on the body to track aspects of health and well-being (called connected health devices), could potentially be used as part of future research projects. One example might be to help spot changes in daily activity that may signal the early symptoms of dementia.

Through participation in interactive workshops, drop-in sessions and meetings; people living with dementia, carers and people without memory problems gave their insights into how these devices might inform future research.

Discussions revealed that people were generally supportive of connected health dementia research, provided individuals gave informed consent and that devices were discreet, comfortable and easy to use. They also recommended technical support and regular feedback on study progress to encourage ongoing participation.

Read the full research article:  Tea, talk and technology: patient and public involvement to improve connected health ‘wearables’ research in dementia in Research Involvement and Engagement, 3:12, 2017.