75% of the carers surveyed said the GPS device improved safety and 61% said it increased the autonomy of the dementia sufferer. However, further refinements still need to be made to the tracing technology before the device can be released for large-scale use in the field of care for people with dementia.
A total of 34 pairs participated in the pilot study; the pairs consisted of one person with dementia and his or her carer. For a period of six months, the dementia sufferer was given a GPS device to use when going out alone. The device had a number of functions. It could send GPS coordinates to a secure website, where the carer could log in and see where the user was and which route he or she had taken.
The user could also contact the carer by simply hitting the button on the device once. The carer could also call the GPS device, which is equipped with a loudspeaker so that the dementia sufferer can hear without having to do anything.
The carers found that the GPS device meant they worried less when the person they were caring for was away from home alone. And 47% of the participants with dementia indicated that their carer was more inclined to give them more freedom thanks to the GPS device, and that they themselves felt less anxious about being outside on their own. In three-quarters of the cases, the carer said they would recommend the use of the GPS device to others.
Further refinements still need to be made to the tracing technology before the device can be used on a large scale in the field of care for people with dementia.
For instance, the mobile phone network is not optimal in a number of areas in the Netherlands. Because of this, the GPS device failed to relay the coordinates consistently to the website in three of the cases in the study. This undermined confidence in the device and underscores the importance of user-friendliness and technical reliability.
Contact:
Anne Margriet Pot, Head Program on Aging, Trimbos Institute
