Utforskning av digitalt hjälpmedel för förbättrad munhygien hos kognitivt sjuka i hemvården

Sammanfattning: A growing population with increasing life expectancy means that the proportion of cognitively ill people is increasing. This puts pressure on the home care service due to lack of time and resources, which leads to a decline in the well-being and quality of life of care recipients. A consequence of cognitive illness is memory loss, which leads to everyday chores such as toothbrushing often being forgotten. Consequently, a large proportion of cognitively ill people suffer from deteriorating oral health. This report explores the possibility of using a digital application to support toothbrushing for patients suffering from cognitive disorders. The work was carried out at LTH with support from Helsingborg Innovation through weekly meetings. The purpose of the application is to make toothbrushing a better and less stressful procedure for mainly care recipients but also for care providers. The needs that exist today were defined through interviews in combination with literature studies. The product should strive to be as person-centered as possible, which is especially important for people suffering from cognitive disorders because it is a particularly broad group. Through an iterative design process where design principles were used, the idea was shaped in the form of a concept prototype. This was used to be able to clarify and visualize the application and thus get feedback from the interviews. The interviewees showed a positive attitude towards the idea as well as the user interface in the concept prototype. The value of the application will be improved oral health, increased quality of life and integrity for the care recipients and a simplified care. The product has great opportunities for further development to be used in other areas. The concept should be further investigated, developed and tested on the user group.