Tangible Objects for Reminiscing in Dementia Care
Stephan L. Huber, Renate Berner, Martina Uhlig, Peter Klein, Jörn Hurtienne · 2019
Reminiscence in dementia care often does not make use of interactive technology. In this work we present a study conducted in two dementia care facilities aimed at developing prototypes for reminiscence. We conducted contextual inquiries over a week to learn how 80 people with varying stages of dementia reminisce throughout the day. We present resulting needs and three tangible prototypes designed to facilitate reminiscence. These prototypes - the pyramid, the set of drawers and the jukebox - were tested in three exploratory field studies. We elaborate on the features of the prototypes that facilitated communication and reminiscence and share insights from failures that need to be considered when designing tangibles in the dementia context. To visualize both positive and negative aspects we introduce a model of successful interaction in the dementia context.