Spominčica Alzheimer Slovenia is a partner in the Erasmus+ project mHEALTH-AD that aims to develop a training programme for enhancing the adoption of mobile health technologies by persons with mild-dementia and increasing their mhealth competencies. In addition to general mHealth technologies, there are specific applications for people with dementia that can support, for example, cognitive training, health and safety monitoring or social and leisure activities. A comprehensive set of training materials was created to be used to facilitate the development of competencies to enhance their health self-management with mHealth solutions. Additionally, a digital serious game was developed, aimed at improving their understanding of mHealth concepts, highlighting the associated benefits, boosting motivation, and assessing their comprehension of healthy practices. Also, an e-Training Platform was developed to support the overall training experience.
Each partner of the project held a piloting session to validate the materials produced. Spominčica Alzheimer Slovenia introduced the "mHealth for Training Health Conditions" module, which emphasises the importance of tracking and monitoring health parameters and modifying behaviour for optimal health, including quality of sleep monitoring. Additionally, Spominčica presented the "mHealth for Communication and Planning" module, focusing on communication and planning services and apps. This module covers effective communication through applications and appropriate methods for interacting with older adults experiencing memory difficulties. Examples include the use of personal planners, medication planning and reminders, hydration app alerts, and activity calendars.
Spominčica has also presented and tested the mHealth-AD digital serious game for training the use of mHealth technologies through simulated scenarios. Participants in sessions actively took part in group discussions on mHealth technologies sharing their own experiences with home technology use, including the use of smartwatches, monitoring sleeping, and daily medication reminders. Some enjoyed the engaging serious game, playing and assisting the avatar in achieving health goals through mHealth technologies. Others, less comfortable with digital tools, required assistance. The validation sessions were successful; participants felt confident about using technologies after covering essential information. Read more about the project and access the e-training platform: https://mhealth-ad.eu/
