Tablet-based outpatient care for people with dementia: Guideline-based treatment planning, personalized disease management and network-based care

Abstract

Background: The current S3 Dementia Guideline is often not enough implemented in the care practice. Accordingly, the outpatient care of people with dementia is often poor. Thus, integrated, cross-sectoral and guideline-oriented approaches are needed in order to improve the care and life quality of people with dementia. Information and communication technologies (ICTs) such as tablets have great potential in this context, since they can support GPs and specialists in patient-centered and guideline-oriented diagnostics and therapy. Further, ICTs enable patients, their caregivers and other carers to implement effective therapeutic approaches in the home environment and can contribute to the improvement of intra and intersectoral health care. The objectives of the presented project ‘‘DemTab—Tablet-based outpatient care of people with dementia: guideline-based treatment planning, individual health management and networking’’ are the development and scientific evaluation of a tablet based intervention as an improvement of outpatient dementia care. Method: Within the framework of DemTab, a qualitative feasibility study will be carried out to test a tablet-based intervention in everyday outpatient care. The feasibility study takes into account the needs of patients with dementia and their caregivers as well as GPs in order to develop, document and systematically evaluate a tablet-based intervention (mixed methods approach). In a second step, the developed tablet-based intervention will be tested. In a cluster randomized control study, GPs (N = 20) and their patients with dementia together with their caregivers (N = 204) will be randomly assigned to an intervention (N = 102) and a control (N = 102) group. Clinical outcomes will be measured at baseline, after 9-months and after 12-months using standardized and validated measurements as well as continually using the tablet and medical records data. Results: The study design of DemTab and the first results of the feasibility study will be presented. Based on the feasibility study, first contents and applications of the tablet will be presented and discussed.

BibTeX

@inproceedings{voigtantons2018oc11,
  author    = {Lech, S. and O’Sullivan-Solte, J. and Voigt-Antons, J.-N. and Gellert, P. and Nordheim, J.},
  title     = {Tablet-based outpatient care for people with dementia: Guideline-based treatment planning, personalized disease management and network-based care},
  year      = {2018},
  booktitle = {Poster presented at the 14th International Congress of the European Geriatric Medicine Society (EuGMS), Berlin, Germany},
  doi       = {10.1007/s41999-018-0097-4},
}