Designing cognitive and physical therapeutic activities for elderly living with Dementia


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Creator/Artist: Parth Kapadia

Category: Interaction Design

Document: Design Research

Batch: 2017-2019

Source: India,   IDC IIT Bombay

Period:  2009-2018

Medium: Report pdf

Supervisor: Prof. Uday A. Athavankar


Detailed Description

Increased life expectancy and the population trends indicate a steady rise in the elderly population. Demographic ageing is becoming a global phenomenon, and correspondingly, there is a rise in age-related conditions associated with impaired cognitive status, such as dementia. As per the report by WHO, with a steady rise in the ageing population, dementia is going to be an epidemic in the coming decades. Dementia is a syndrome, usually of a chronic or progressive nature, caused by a variety of brain illnesses that affect memory, thinking, behaviour and ability to perform everyday activities. Dementia not only affects the cognitive capabilities, especially memory and orientation, but also physical capabilities, which are associated with a decrease of physical activities. To date, the research to find the cure for dementia is ongoing, and no satisfactory and reliable cure has been discovered. There are therapies to influence symptomatic dementia beneficially and to improve the abilities remaining with the elderly living with dementia. These therapies provide a way to alleviate the quality of life and well-being of people with dementia. This report aims at documenting the experiences of field study and developing various therapeutic activities. An attempt was made to add elements of game design into the various activities developed, hoping to achieve more voluntary and enthusiastic participation and motivation of patients to perform various activities. This report holds rich insights for other designers who would be looking to build more inclusive activities to support elder people with cognitive disabilities.