Supporting working carers of people living with dementia: The potential of technologies for combining work and care

Background: Carers of a person with dementia are faced with unique challenges when combining paid work and unpaid care. Technology can address some of these challenges. This PhD project aims to explore and identify technologies which have the potential to support working dementia carers and to map these technologies onto the work-care reconciliation challenges they express.

Methods: Scoping reviews and a participatory design approach were used to explore A) the problem, and B) the solution. Semi-structured interviews with 16 working dementia carers helped to identify what work-care-reconciliation challenges carers wanted solutions for. A comprehensive review of the technology landscape then identified technologies – currently available and emerging – which could address these work-care reconciliation challenges. Technology experts from academia, industry, and social care commission validated the findings. Finally, a custom-built website was used to get feedback from those intended to use these technologies.

Findings: Work-care reconciliation challenges carers wanted solutions for included i) care management, ii) attending appointments, iii) entertainment and companionship, iv) psychological and psychosocial stress, v) safety concerns, vi) accessing information, and vii) personal care. A total of 83 technologies, deemed to address the work-care reconciliation challenges carers had identified, emerged from the technology landscape review. These were mapped onto carers' work-care reconciliation challenges (technology map). Most of these technologies were thought to be useful by participants of the online technology evaluation. However, technologies’ effects on other stakeholders, especially people with dementia, were important considerations.

Conclusion/implications for practice: The technology map can be used as a reference by working dementia carers and those aiming to support them (i.e., their employers, carer or dementia support organisations, and local authority adult social care departments) to identify technological solutions to their challenges. Furthermore, it could be used by technology providers as a guide for further research and development.