Digital Resources Aiding Opportunities for Affiliation and Practical Reasoning Among People with Dementia: A Scoping Review

Abstract

Persons with dementia face several challenges in daily life and the consequences of the disease can be a threat to live a dignified life. Martha Nussbaum has developed the concept of dignified life for people with dementia and suggests the capability approach focusing on what people are able to do and to be in certain agreed-upon areas. Particularly, affiliation and practical reasoning are crucial to preserve a dignified life. For people with dementia the consequences of the disease may affect their opportunities to achieve these vital human capabilities. Digital resources have been shown to have potential to support people in their everyday life and provide them with the means necessary to participate in all aspects of life. In this study, our purpose is to describe digital resources aimed at supporting opportunities for affiliation and practical reasoning among people with dementia. Specifically, we wanted to give an overview of the existing digital resources used to support affiliation and practical reasoning and how such resources affect opportunities for people with dementia. A framework for scoping reviews was used and literature searches were conducted in PubMed and Scopus. The results, by providing a deep analysis of digital resources for affiliation and practical reasoning, highlight the need for a clearer direction towards the very core of vital aspects in a dignified life. Hence, there is a need for a framework that can guide attention towards crucial aspects for supporting a dignified life when developing and evaluating digital resources.