Digital Technologies for Management of Dementia and Future Directions

Introduction

Dementia is becoming a global health challenge worldwide. There were more than 55 million reported cases of dementia in 2020 and this number is growing with each passing day. The annual increase in the count is over 10 million, making it one new reported case every 3.2 seconds. According to Alzheimer’s Diseases International (ADI), the prevalence of dementia will double every 20 years, making 78 million by 2030 and 139 million by 20501. More than 60% of these live in low- and middle-income countries where the healthcare facility is inadequate to meet the existing demand for care (Figure 1). To address this pressing issue strategic planning is needed at the government level [1].

Click to enlarge

Methods

This study uses focus group discussion to identify the leading digital technologies. The study further utilizes another focus group to map these technologies as a solution in the management of dementia. A focus group discussion is a research method that involves a group of individuals who are brought together to discuss a particular topic or issue of interest to the researcher. The purpose of the focus group discussion is to obtain data about the attitudes, opinions, beliefs, and perceptions of the participants on the topic under study. Typically, a focus group discussion involves a small group of participants, usually between 6-10 people, who are chosen based on their characteristics, such as age, gender, occupation, or other relevant criteria. This study uses two separate focus groups of 6 experts for two different objectives. The group is facilitated by VM who guides the discussion and ensures that all participants have an opportunity to share their opinions. One of the key advantages of focus group discussions is that they allow for in-depth exploration of the topic under study. By bringing together a group of individuals with different perspectives and experiences, the method can generate rich, detailed data that can be used to inform research and practice. Additionally, focus group discussions can be a cost-effective way of collecting data, as they allow for the collection of data from multiple participants in a single session.

Results and Discussion

Healthcare has witnessed increased digitalization in the recent past [7]. Digitalization has the potential to solve the triple problem of healthcare availability, accessibility, and affordability [8]. The authors of this article observe that SMACIR technologies are changing the landscape of healthcare. The details of the SMACIR are given in Figure 2.

Click to enlarge

Source: Author’s Compilation Figure 2: SMACIR Technologies Changing Healthcare Landscape.

Conclusions

In the end, we propose policy levers to address the dementia problem in developing countries: (1) Detecting Dementia at an early stage, and (2) Creating Digital Health Ecosystem.  Since dementia is irreversible it is imperative to identify it early so that progression can be slowed down. Artificial Intelligence can assist in the mass screening of brain images to identify them early. The next recommendation is to develop a digital health ecosystem for dementia soon. The countries which have a digital infrastructure for telemedicine available immensely benefited during the COVID-19 outbreak. The digital health ecosystem involves medical device companies, healthcare providers, patients, insurance providers, and the government [10]. In a resource- constrained environment, public-private partnership has an important role to play in creating a digital health ecosystem for dementia management. We recommend the inclusion of digital health in insurance coverage to propel its use. Governments also need to address the privacy and security issues related to these technologies to enthuse sustained interest in them. If implemented properly digital health has the potential to solve many challenges related to the management of dementia, but a lot needs to be done to reap those benefits.