Design of a data supported care planning process

Abstract

BPSD (Behaviour and psychological symptoms of Dementia) is a progressive symptom infecting PwD’s well-being and cause stress to care givers. It results from unmet needs in different aspects. A personalized care plan is demanding to be made iteratively to meeting the individual needs of the each patient. It is made by the care team and guides the care givers to fulfill PwD’s needs and manage BPSD. Location data can reveal contextual information can improve communication. It has been applied in industries like public transportation and commercials. With the revealed information from location data, people can make actionable decisions. While in dementia care, location data bas not been widely applied. This project investigates the value of location data in nursing home. It begins with literature review around location data and care planning communication. The care planning process is studied to build the structure of what care plan is and main factors affecting communication are identified as the guidance of field study After literature research, two rounds of field research was conducted to understand how the care plan is made in the nursing home. A focus group was firstly held to map out the information systems in the process. Also the unmet needs of the care team communication during the process and opportunities to apply location data are identified. Then interview and observation on the main activities of care planning are done to see how the care team go through all the tasks. The insights are categorized based on influencing factors found from literature. Parallel research on the insights of location data is also conducted. Three brainstorming sessions are held and small ideas on how the location insights can be used are also generated. More literature research on the the needs of PwD and management of BPSD is done. Hypothesises are formulated to identify what location insights can actually help the BPSD management in care planning. The hypothesis test proves location information can be helpful in providing a more efficient communication experience in care planning. The needs location data can help address are sleep disorder, stress management, socialization and life safety. A data analytics platform is design for supporting the caregivers to report and communicate with other care professionals.