{"id":3028,"date":"2024-05-08T04:39:58","date_gmt":"2024-05-08T04:39:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/?p=3028"},"modified":"2024-05-08T05:25:23","modified_gmt":"2024-05-08T05:25:23","slug":"an-ai-companion-for-aged-care-residents-living-with-dementia-its-for-real","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villages.com.au\/lifestyle\/an-ai-companion-for-aged-care-residents-living-with-dementia-its-for-real\/","title":{"rendered":"An AI companion for aged care residents living with dementia? It\u2019s for real"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"wp-post\" data-elementor-id=\"3028\" class=\"elementor elementor-3028\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-2b330ff elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"2b330ff\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-95a63d2\" data-id=\"95a63d2\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-7acced2 elementor-drop-cap-yes elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"7acced2\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-settings=\"{&quot;drop_cap&quot;:&quot;yes&quot;}\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-stacked .elementor-drop-cap{background-color:#69727d;color:#fff}.elementor-widget-text-editor.elementor-drop-cap-view-framed .elementor-drop-cap{color:#69727d;border:3px solid;background-color:transparent}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap{margin-top:8px}.elementor-widget-text-editor:not(.elementor-drop-cap-view-default) .elementor-drop-cap-letter{width:1em;height:1em}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap{float:left;text-align:center;line-height:1;font-size:50px}.elementor-widget-text-editor .elementor-drop-cap-letter{display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t<p>O<strong>ver 400,000 Australians living with a diagnosis of dementia, one in three people aged over 85 is now living with some form of dementia or cognitive impairment \u2013 and these figures are set to grow, even as the aged care sector continues to see significant workforce shortages.<\/strong><\/p><p>The reality is that residential care and home care staff cannot provide the \u2018touch\u2019 and companionship that older people need 24\/7 \u2013 but technology can help to bridge this gap.<\/p><p>New innovations are assisting to provide social connection and wellbeing \u2013 and enabling aged care staff to improve their care and communication with people living with dementia.<\/p><p>AI companion designed to calm and soothe<\/p><p>The latest to make its debut is Viv \u2013 an artificially intelligent (AI) character who shares a number of symptoms and experiences associated with dementia.<\/p><p>Based on four women with similar symptoms of vascular dementia, Viv is one of a suite of digital characters being developed by the felt Experience &amp; Empathy Lab (fEEL) at UNSW Sydney to provide companionship for people living with dementia.<\/p><p>\u201cThe characters don\u2019t just provide companionship, they can also help with co-regulating emotion, as would happen with a human companion,\u201d said\u202fARC Laureate Scientia Professor Jill Bennett, who leads the lab.<\/p><p>\u201cThis is very helpful when people living with dementia experience confusion or hallucinations. One potential positive effect we envisage is in terms of offering a calming and soothing response when people are anxious or distressed.\u201d<\/p><p>Viv is now being taken into a number of aged care facilities \u2013 both on a life-sized portrait screen and on iPads \u2013 to research how the technology can be used to support residents living with dementia.<\/p><p>Personalised platform sees 70% reduction in resident incidents<\/p><p>Another therapeutic technology that is seeing significant improvements in behaviours in people living with dementia is Resparke, formerly known as Moove and Groove.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-315c123 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"315c123\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-383fb8b\" data-id=\"383fb8b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-efed165 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"efed165\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t<style>\/*! elementor - v3.15.0 - 20-08-2023 *\/\n.elementor-widget-image{text-align:center}.elementor-widget-image a{display:inline-block}.elementor-widget-image a img[src$=\".svg\"]{width:48px}.elementor-widget-image img{vertical-align:middle;display:inline-block}<\/style>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture4-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-3031\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture4-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture4-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture4-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture4-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture4-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture4.jpg 1379w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-fc66260 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"fc66260\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-64b2d62\" data-id=\"64b2d62\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e4ce926 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"e4ce926\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Established in 2019, its platform contains thousands of music playlists, videos, and podcasts for older people with an AI-supported resident matching system that records a residents\u2019 interests, preferences, and life story.<\/p><p>\u201cWhat we have learned about dementia is that in order to be able to change a behavior, you have to find something that is meaningful to that person,\u201d Resparke founder and CEO Alison Harrington said.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-7cccf34 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"7cccf34\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-f54ac36\" data-id=\"f54ac36\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-266e2d4 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"266e2d4\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture5-300x200.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-3032\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture5-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture5-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture5-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture5-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture5-585x390.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture5.jpg 1379w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-b1a57b0 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"b1a57b0\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-9163e3a\" data-id=\"9163e3a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-25113fb elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"25113fb\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u201cFor example, when a care staff member comes in, they can look that resident up on the platform, click on their name, go to their page and already have 20 different items which are personalised to that person to instantly play.\u201d<\/p><p>This personalised approach is delivering real results for the service, which has expanded to 280 aged care homes across Australia.<\/p><p>Resparke has just concluded a dementia care trial in memory support units where one site recorded a 70% reduction in incidents over a three-month period.<\/p><p>In one case, a resident who had previously required two or three staff to shower him was discovered to be a fan of Slim Dusty. Playing his music reduced these incidents and staff were able to shower him.<\/p><p><strong>Communication key to connecting with people living with dementia<\/strong><\/p><p>AI is also helping aged care staff and providers to communicate respectfully with people living with dementia<\/p><p>The national peak body Dementia Australia has developed its own AI-based platform \u2018Talk with Ted\u2019, which is a realistic online simulation that sees users guide \u2018Ted\u2019 through the showering process.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-f47a71b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"f47a71b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-9aee2ee\" data-id=\"9aee2ee\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-f5c91da elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"f5c91da\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"238\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture6-300x238.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-3033\" alt=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture6-300x238.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture6-1024x811.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture6-768x608.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture6-600x475.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture6-585x463.jpg 585w, https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture6.jpg 1379w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-485f4a7 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"485f4a7\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-fc0db5a\" data-id=\"fc0db5a\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-16fe024 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"16fe024\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u201cWhether it\u2019s in home care or residential, it doesn\u2019t matter what stage of the disease; the advice is always the same which is good communication,\u201d said Dr Tanya Petrovich, Manager of Innovation at Dementia Australia.<\/p><p>Tanya uses the example of staff entering the room of an aged care resident and immediately going into the task of giving the resident their medication or assisting them to the toilet.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-87f94f1 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"87f94f1\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-aa785a6\" data-id=\"aa785a6\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-e41afa5 elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"e41afa5\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"215\" height=\"235\" src=\"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/Picture7.jpg\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium wp-image-3034\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-0ae416b elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"0ae416b\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-39f4d0b\" data-id=\"39f4d0b\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-74307c7 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"74307c7\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>\u201cStaff can forget that you need to engage the person because they will not recall why you are there or who you are. So, each time you meet them, you need to assume they have no knowledge of you and what is about to take place,\u201d she stated.<\/p><p>The avatar is designed to allow staff to reflect on and adapt their current communication approach with clients and residents.<\/p><p><strong>Help for families visiting loved ones in aged care<\/strong><\/p><p>In addition, Dementia Australia offers a number of other free resources for aged care staff and families.<\/p><p>Its \u2018Ask Annie\u2019 app has a module on communication with advice on how to better communicate with people living with dementia.<\/p><p>The app has recently been updated to include a module on changed behaviours in people living with dementia, which is particularly aimed at home care staff.<\/p><p>The peak body also has an app aimed at improving communication for families visiting loved ones living in residential aged care.<\/p><p>Developed in collaboration by Melbourne aged care provider Lifeview Residential Care and Swinburne University of Technology\u2019s Future Self and Design Living Lab, \u2018A Better Visit\u2019 features a range of two-player games designed to help family members to interact with a loved one, who may no longer recognise them.<\/p><p><em>If you need advice on supporting someone living with dementia, you can call the National Dementia Helpline on 1800 100 500 between 9am and 5pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).<\/em><\/p><p><em>If you are caring for a person living with dementia and need help accessing the right advice, services and support, you can also call Carer Gateway on 1800 422 737, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm local time.<\/em><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Over 400,000 Australians living with a diagnosis of dementia, one in three people aged over 85 is now living with some form of dementia or cognitive impairment \u2013 and these figures are set to grow, even as the aged care sector continues to see significant&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3029,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_mi_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[72,18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3028","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-lifestyle"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3028","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3028"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3028\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3071,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3028\/revisions\/3071"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3029"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3028"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3028"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.villages.com.au/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3028"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}