Background: Dementia is one of the main public health priorities for current and future societies worldwide. Over the past years, eHealth solutions have added numerous promising solutions to enhance the health and wellness of people living with dementia-related cognitive problems and their primary caregivers. Previous studies have shown that an environmental scan identifies the knowledge-to-action gap meaningfully. This paper presents the protocol of an environmental scan to monitor the currently available eHealth solutions targeting dementia and other neurocognitive disorders against selected attributes.
Objective: This study aims to identify the characteristics of currently available eHealth solutions recommended for older adults with cognitive problems and their informal caregivers. To inform the recommendations regarding eHealth solutions for these people, it is important to obtain a comprehensive view of currently available technologies and document their outcomes and conditions of success.
Methods: We will perform an environmental scan of available eHealth solutions for older adults with cognitive impairment or dementia and their informal caregivers. Potential solutions will be initially identified from a previous systematic review. We will also conduct targeted searches for gray literature on Google and specialized websites covering the regions of Canada and Europe. Technological tools will be scanned based on a preformatted extraction grid. The relevance and efficiency based on the selected attributes will be assessed.
Results: We will prioritize relevant solutions based on the needs and preferences identified from a qualitative study among older adults with cognitive impairment or dementia and their informal caregivers.
Conclusions: This environmental scan will identify eHealth solutions that are currently available and scientifically appraised for older adults with cognitive impairment or dementia and their informal caregivers. This knowledge will inform the development of a decision support tool to assist older adults and their informal caregivers in their search for adequate eHealth solutions according to their needs and preferences based on trustable information.
International registered report identifier (irrid): DERR1-10.2196/41015.
Keywords: dementia; digital health; eHealth solutions; environmental scan; mild cognitive impairment (MCI).
©Ambily Jose, Maxime Sasseville, Samantha Dequanter, Ellen Gorus, Anik Giguère, Anne Bourbonnais, Samira Abbasgholizadeh Rahimi, Ronald Buyl, Marie-Pierre Gagnon. Originally published in JMIR Research Protocols (https://www.researchprotocols.org), 04.11.2022.