ASTRID
A Social and Technological Response to meeting the needs of Individuals with Dementia and their carers
ASTRID is looking at how new technologies can be of benefit to people with dementia and their carers. There are a variety of these "assistive technologies" that can be helpful in the case of dementia. They include computer-based recreational and therapeutic systems, smart homes, monitoring and tracking systems, and alarm systems. To date, however, there has been very limited exploitation of their potential. This is an area that is becoming increasingly important as the European population ages and as we look for new ways to support independent living and a better quality of life for people with dementia and their carers. Developments in technology will provide new solutions and, equally importantly, our deepening understanding of dementia will indicate how they can best contribute to lessening its impact.
The main tasks of ASTRID are as follows:
- An analysis of users needs to look at the requirements for assistive technology on the part of people with dementia and their carers.
- An analysis of the range of existing and emerging assistive technology solutions in this area and the supply chains that make them (or fail to make them) available to those who could benefit from them.
- The preparation of a Guide to support the selection and implementation of technology, where technological solutions are appropriate. The approach will use socio-technical principles, giving special attention to the social context within which the technology is to be used.
- The dissemination of the Guide and other project results. Apart from general distribution of the project’s outputs, it will also organise consultation exercises with key stakeholders. These will enable validation of the initial guide and extension of the scope and reach of the initiative.
- The project is a preliminary action in preparation of future activities. At the end of the project, it will develop a proposal for future work to fully develop and field-test a guide that covers all relevant assistive technologies.
The main output of ASTRID is the guide. It will provide a framework for assessing the needs and identifying appropriate technological solutions for potential users of assistive technology. Anticipated users include people with dementia and their carers, the health and social services and other organisations that work with older people, and suppliers of assistive technology.
WRC is leading the dissemination task. Further details about this task and the other activities of the project can be found on the official ASTRID website.
ASTRID is a study being carried out under the Disabled and Elderly sector of the Telematics Programme of the European Union.
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