A new paper explores technology use by people with dementia during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In a rapid review published last week, researchers, including MindTech’s Dr Mike Craven, examined existing studies to find out how people with dementia and their supporters have been using technology since the pandemic began in 2020.

The review was carried out by the INTERDEM Assistive Technologies Taskforce and aimed to identify not just technology use and how that had changed, but also barriers to using technology by people with dementia and those that support them.

They found that whilst Covid-19 accelerated technology use in this group of people, it also suggested that many people with dementia were unable to use digital support independently.

Read the paper in full in Aging & Mental Health

Interdem is a pan-European network of researchers collaborating in research on and dissemination of early, timely and quality psychosocial interventions in dementia aimed at improving the quality of life of people with dementia and their supporters, across Europe. Several researchers at the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) and MindTech are active members of Interdem, including Professor Martin Orrell, Director of the IMH and member of the Interdem board.