Recently modern medical technology has advanced significantly, resulting in an increase in the average lifespan of Taiwanese individuals. However, dementia, a common disease among the elderly, has also become more prevalent. The cognitive decline caused by dementia can severely impact the physical, mental, and spiritual health of patients. This study aimed to explore the impact of using digital nostalgia technology to provide cognitive stimulation for patients with dementia, specifically through the use of the "Recall" system developed by our research team. We analyzed the narrative context of patients and employed a pre- and post-test experimental design, inviting five mild dementia patients with CDR scores of 0.5 and 1 to participate. The research methodology mainly involved qualitative research, and we conducted semi-structured interviews with patients using nostalgic photos, divided into four topics: personal background description, most memorable experiences, specific themes, and personal photo sharing. We used NVivo qualitative analysis software to analyze the interview transcripts by coding and classifying the nodes to explore the differences in the patient's narrative context before and after the intervention. This study found that patients participating in the digital experimental activities were more eager to share their personal old photos, which stimulated more memories and led to good subjectivity, continuity, coherence, and correspondence with autobiographical memory. Compared with the non-digital group, patients in the digital group were more willing to share their memories and stories from the past, and they provided positive feedback on the presentation of digital photos and the use of Taiwanese voiceovers.

Authors:
Kuang-Yi Fan, National University of Tainan, Taiwan
Pei-Fen Wu, National Changhua University of Education, Taiwan

About the Presenter(s)
Professor KUANG-YI FAN is a University Assistant Professor/Lecturer at National University of Tainan in Taiwan

See this presentation on the full schedule – Friday Schedule

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