Institute of Art Design + Technology
Dún Laoghaire

Jordan Mc Donnell 

BSc [Hons] Applied Psychology

My name is Jordan McDonnell. I have conducted a Rapid Structured Literature Review on Assistive Technology and Dementia care. This merges the worlds of Psychology and technology beautifully! My goal for my undergrad was to attempt to bridge the gap between Psych and Tech, try allow them to live and work together!

Project Description

I conducted a Rapid Structured Literature Review. This was focusing on the use and lack of use of Assistive technology within dementia care. Assistive tech can be anything from simple glasses, hearing aids or walking sticks to more tech related things like sensors or alarms. Dementia care also includes both formal and informal care. This means, carers could be family or friends, or they could be professionals. To conduct this research, I looked at studies that were refined from thirty-two down to six. In short, I found thirty-two studies which were related to my study, these studies were then included/excluded in accordance with inclusion/exclusion criteria.


Project Outcomes

This review brings together research in the area of Assistive Technology and Dementia care. Each study included in the review explored barriers and factors associated with the use and lack of use of Assistive Technology within dementia care. The studies ranged from 2007 to 2020. Each study included in the review found barriers to the use of Assistive Technology: some studies shared the same barriers with each other, such as awareness and technical difficulties. Other studies included in the review spoke of barriers that were specific to their own study such as ingression. The time at which technology is introduced and implemented into the care of an individual is important as it can aid the ease of use of certain technologies.


Thesis title

The experiences of people with dementia and their carer’s with Assistive Technology.