Do not index
Do not index
Introduction
The journey towards maintaining independence with dementia is fraught with challenges. Once second nature, daily tasks and habits become increasingly difficult to manage. In their dedication, carers often find themselves in a cycle of checking and rechecking whether routine tasks have been completed, leading to wasted time and heightened stress.
In a collaborative effort to alleviate these difficulties, Hppn and Else have introduced Instinctively, an innovative app designed to empower individuals with dementia. Instinctively enables users to set up daily tasks, receive timely notifications, and access step-by-step guidance through each activity. Carers are informed when tasks are completed or missed, streamlining their responsibilities and reducing stress.
Background
According to the Alzheimer's Society, technology holds the potential to enhance various aspects of daily living for those with dementia, from ensuring safer walking to aiding in socialising, maintaining safety, addressing memory issues, and facilitating daily activities. Instinctively primarily focuses on improving memory and daily task management. It aims to support users in remembering and performing everyday activities like unloading the dishwasher, offering guidance through each step.
The app seeks to:
- Establish daily tasks
- Create custom reminders based on time or location
- Provide step-by-step guidance for activities
For carers, Instinctively offers a seamless way to monitor and support their loved one's daily routines.
Challenges
Developing Instinctively presented unique challenges:
- The design needed to cater specifically to individuals with dementia, requiring large text, ample white space, and intuitive navigation.
- Being a side project for Hppn and Else meant progress was intermittent, with work and discussions often pausing for days.
- The app needed to be ready by November 2023, which added time pressure to the development process.
Solution Strategy
Our solution involved a collaborative approach:
- Else's design team crafted the user interface in Figma, focusing on simplicity, clarity, and accessibility for people with dementia.
- Hppn then developed the app using Flutter, integrating it with a Firestore and Firebase backend for robust, scalable functionality.
This strategy ensured the app was user-friendly for its target audience and built on a reliable, flexible technology foundation.
Outcome and Results
The feedback collected from users has been invaluable in assessing the app's effectiveness and areas for improvement:
- One user expressed how the app facilitated a focus on maintaining a routine schedule, which is essential for the well-being of individuals living with dementia.
- Another highlighted the app's timely reminders that prompted necessary activities, demonstrating its practical utility in daily life.
- A healthcare professional from a therapy services department noted the app's potential benefits for staff, suggesting its wide-ranging relevance.
- Feedback also included some challenges, such as initial resistance from users who felt they did not need such support. However, this resistance was observed to decrease over time.
These insights underscore the positive impact the app has had on its users' lives while also pointing towards areas for further development and enhancement.
Learnings and Conclusion
Hppn's collaboration with Else has been a productive learning experience, marked by several key takeaways:
- Utilising Apple TestFlight facilitated rapid iteration and deployment without needing App Store approval.
- Variance in photo quality to illustrate routines in the app revealed the need for a more streamlined content collection method in future versions.
- Compatibility issues with iOS accessibility settings highlighted the importance of ensuring the app's design remains accessible to all users, especially given the typical age group of participants.
- The feedback on iPad usability underscores the need to optimise the app's design for larger screens to accommodate users with difficulties with dexterity.
The next version of the Instinctively app will be released in April 2024. Please subscribe to be the first to hear more about this or other Hppn initiatives, technology best practices and innovations.