Tablet computer-supported conversation between people with dementia and their carers: technology as interactional focus

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to explore when and how technology becomes a topic in interactions involving people with dementia and their carers. Three dyads of older women with dementia and their carers participated in the study. The dyads interacted in the home environments of the persons with dementia using tablet computers and two web-based applications with generic pictures, videos, and music files (CIRCA) and personalized pictures and films (CIRCUS). The data included twenty-one video-recorded interactions. Topical episode analysis and transcripts of interaction were used to analyze and exemplify when and how technology was talked about in the dyads. The dyads were engaged in exploring the tablets, and six common ways of making technology a topic of conversation were identified: talk about tech problems, commenting actions, expressing uncertainty in navigation, instructing and explaining, expressing surprise, and talk about technical development. The dyads explored the tablets in ways that were reflected in the content of their conversations. If people with dementia and their carers should benefit from today’s technology, such as there is evidence for the interactions examined in this study, their homes and daily environments must be equipped with sufficient internet access and technical support.