As the segment of the population 65 years of age or older continues to grow, the number of individuals with dementia increases proportionally, highlighting the need to design therapies that meet the social and emotional needs of people with dementia. Information and communication technologies (ICT) are potential venues for supporting the delivery of such therapies, including reminiscence therapy (RT), which is a non-pharmacological intervention involving the prompting of past memories, often with artifacts such as old photographs or music for therapeutic benefits such as the facilitation of social interactions or the increase of self-esteem. This paper systematically examines the scientific literature on the use of ICT for facilitating RT to assess the current state of the evidence and identify future trends. We searched the PubMed (1966-2013), ACM (1954-2013), and PsycINFO (1908-2013) repositories using the keywords dementia and reminiscence. Three hundred eighty-six articles were retrieved, 44 of which met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Findings of the systematic review include that there are benefits to using ICT for RT interventions. Some of these benefits are access to rich and engaging multimedia reminiscence materials, opportunities for people with dementia to participate in social interactions and take ownership of conversations, and a reduction of barriers due to motor deficits during interactions with media. Future studies should explore the types and content of media beneficial to individuals at different stages of dementia.
AlmN.AstellA.EllisM.DyeR.GowansG.CampbellJ. (2004). A cognitive prosthesis and communication support for people with dementia. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 14(1/2), 117-134. doi:10.1080/09602010343000147
2.
AlmN.DyeR.AstellA.EllisM.GowansG.CampbellJ. (2005). Making software accessible to people with severe memory deficits. In GibsonL.GregorP.SloanD. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2005 International Conference on Accessible Design in the Digital World (Accessible Design ‘05) (p. 16). Swinton, UK: British Computer Society.
3.
AlmN.DyeR.GowansG.CampbellJ.AstellA.EllisM. (2003). Designing an interface usable by people with dementia. In Proceedings of the 2003 Conference on Universal Usability (CUU ‘03) (pp. 156-157). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/957205.957237
4.
AlmN.DyeR.GowansG.CampbellJ.AstellA.EllisM. (2007). A communication support system for older people with dementia. Computer, 40(5), 35-41. doi:10.1109/MC.2007.153
5.
AstellA. J.EllisM. P.AlmN.DyeR.GowansG. (2010). Stimulating people with dementia to reminisce using personal and generic photographs. International Journal of Computers in Healthcare, 1(2), 177-198.
6.
AstellA. J.EllisM. P.BernardiL.AlmN.DyeR.GowansG.CampbellJ. (2010). Using a touch screen computer to support relationships between people with dementia and caregivers. Interacting With Computers, 22(4), 267-275. doi:10.1016/j.intcom.2010.03.003
7.
AzcurraD. J. L.S. (2012). A reminiscence program intervention to improve the quality of life of long-term care residents with Alzheimer’s disease: A randomized controlled trial. Revista Brasileira de Psiquiatria, 34(4), 422-433. doi:10.1016/j.rbp.2012.05.008
8.
BassB. A.GregerL. M. (1996). Stimulus complexity in reminiscence therapy and scores on the beck depression inventory of a small group of nursing-home residents. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 82(3, Pt. 1), 973-974.
9.
BenvenisteS.JouvelotP.RenaudP. (2010). The MINWii Project: Renarcissization of patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease through video game-based music therapy. In YangH. S.MalakaR.HoshinoJ.HanJ. H. (Eds.), Proceedings on the 9th International Conference on Entertainment Computing (ICEC ‘10) (pp. 79-90). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
10.
BirdT. D.MillerB. L. (2010). Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias. In HauserS.JosephsonS. (Eds.), Harrison’s neurology in clinical medicine (2nd ed., pp. 298-319). New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Professional.
11.
BoulayM.BenvenisteS.BoespflugS.JouvelotP.RigaudA.-S. (2011). A pilot usability study of MINWii, a music therapy game for demented patients. Technology and Health Care: Official Journal of the European Society for Engineering and Medicine, 19(4), 233-246. doi:10.3233/THC-2011-0628
12.
ButlerR. (1963). The life review: An interpretation of reminiscence in the aged. Psychiatry, 26, 65-76.
13.
CapraniN.DwyerN.HarrisonK.BrienK. O. (2005). Remember when: Development of an Interactive reminiscence device. In CHI ’05 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems (CHI EA ’05) (pp. 2070-2073). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/1056808.1057101
14.
CoheneT.BaeckerR.MarzialiE. (2005). Designing interactive life story multimedia for a family affected by Alzheimer’s disease. In CHI ’05 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems (CHI EA ’05) (pp. 1300-1303). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/1056808.1056901
15.
CotelliM.ManentiR.ZanettiO. (2012). Reminiscence therapy in dementia: A review. Maturitas, 72(3), 203-205. doi:10.1016/j.maturitas.2012.04.008
16.
CrispiE. L.HeitnerG. (2002). An activity-based intervention for caregivers and residents with dementia in nursing homes. Activities, Adaptation and Aging, 26(4), 61-72.
17.
DouglasS.JamesI.BallardC. (2004). Non-pharmacological interventions in dementia. Advances in Psychiatric Treatment, 10, 171-177. doi:10.1192/apt.10.3.171
18.
GaryL. (2012). Improving reminiscence therapy through active brainwave analysis. In Proceedings of the 6th International Conference on Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology (i-Create ‘12) (Article No. 27, pp. 1-3). Singapore: Singapore Therapeutic, Assistive and Rehabilitative Technologies (START) Centre.
19.
GibsonF. (1994). What can reminiscence contribute to people with dementia? In BornatJ. (Ed.), Reminiscence reviewed: Persceptives, evaluations, achievements (pp. 46-60). Milton Keynes, UK: Open University Press.
20.
GibsonF. (2004). The past in the present: Using reminiscence in health and social care. Baltimore, Baltimore, MD: Health Professions Press.
21.
GlynnN. J. (1992). The music therapy assessment tool in Alzheimer’s patients. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 18(1), 3-9.
22.
GowansG.CampbellJ.AlmN.DyeR.AstellA.EllisM. (2004). Designing a multimedia conversation aid for reminiscence therapy in dementia care environments. In CHI ’04 extended abstracts on human factors in computing systems (CHI EA ’04) (pp. 825-836). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/985921.985943
23.
GreenN. L.GuinnC.SmithR. W. (2012). Assisting social conversation between persons with Alzheimer’s disease and their conversational partners. In Proceedings of the Third Workshop on Speech and Language Processing for Assistive Technologies (SLPAT ’12) (pp. 37-46). Stroudsburg, PA: Association for Computational Linguistics.
24.
HamadaT.KuwaharaN.MorimotoK.YasudaK. (2009). Preliminary study on remote assistance for people with dementia at home by using multi-media contents. In StephanidisC. (Ed.), Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: Addressing Diversity. Part I: Held as Part of HCI International 2009 (UAHCI ‘09) (pp. 236-244). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-02707-9_26
25.
HattoriF.KuwabaraK.KuwaharaN.AbeS.YasudaK. (2007). Socialware for people with disabilities. In Proceedings of the 6th IEEE International Conference on Cognitive Informatics (COGINF ‘07) (pp. 321-326). Washington, DC: IEEE Computer Society. doi:10.1109/COGINF.2007.4341905
26.
HurdM. D.MartorellP.DelavandeA.MullenK. J.LangaK. M. (2013). Monetary costs of dementia in the United States. New England Journal of Medicine, 368(14), 1326-1334. doi:10.1056/NEJMsa1204629
27.
KikhiaB.BengtssonJ. E.SynnesK.SaniH. (2010). Creating digital life stories through activity recognition with image filtering. In LeeY.BienZ. Z.MokhtariM.KimJ. T.ParkM.KimJ.. . . KhalilI. (Eds.), Proceedings of the Aging Friendly Technology for Health and Independence, and 8th International Conference on Smart Homes and Health Telematics (ICOST ’10) (pp. 203-210). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag.
28.
KikhiaB.HallbergJ.BengtssonJ. E.SävenstedtS.SynnesK. (2010). Building digital life stories for memory support. International Journal of Computers in Healthcare, 1(2), 161-176.
29.
KuwaharaN.AbeS.YasudaK.KuwabaraK. (2006). Networked reminiscence therapy for individuals with dementia by using photo and video sharing. In Proceedings of the 8th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility (Assets ‘06) (p. 125). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/1168987.1169010
30.
KuwaharaN.YasudaK.AbeS.KuwabaraK. (2006). Networked interactive photo annotation and reminiscence content delivery. In MizoguchiR.ShiZ.GiunchigliaF. (Eds.), Proceedings of the First Asian Conference on the Semantic Web (ASWC ‘06) (pp. 762-767). Berlin, Germany: Springer-Verlag. doi:10.1007/11836025_74
31.
KuwaharaN.YasudaK.TetsutaniN.MorimotoK. (2010). Remote assistance for people with dementia at home using reminiscence systems and a schedule prompter. International Journal of Computers in Healthcare, 1(2), 126-143.
32.
LawtonM. P.RubinsteinR. L. (Eds.). (2000). Interventions in dementia care: Towards improving quality of life. New York, NY: Springer.
33.
LeeM. L.DeyA. K. (2008). Using lifelogging to support recollection for people with episodic memory impairment and their caregivers. In Proceedings of the 2nd International Workshop on Systems and Networking Support for Health Care and Assisted Living Environments (HealthNet ’08). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/1515747.1515765
34.
LinL.-J.LiK.-Y.TabourneC. E. S. (2011). Impact of the life review program on elders with dementia: a preliminary study at a day care center in southern Taiwan. Journal of Nursing Research, 19(3), 199-209. doi:10.1097/JNR.0b013e318228ced3
35.
LinY.-C.DaiY.-T.HwangS.-L. (1994). The effect of reminiscence on the elderly population: A systematic review. Public Health Nursing, 20(4), 297-306.
36.
MossS. E.PolignanoE.WhiteC.MinichielloM.SunderlandT. (2002). Reminiscence group activities and discourse interaction in Alzheimer’s disease. Journal of Gerontological Nursing, 8, 36-44.
37.
NamaziK.HaynesS. (1994). Sensory stimuli reminiscence for patients with Alzheimer’s disease: Relevance and implications. Clinical Gerontologist, 14(4), 29-46.
38.
National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence. (2006). NICE clinical guideline 42: Dementia. Supporting people with dementia and their carers in health and social care. London, UK: Author.
39.
ParkerJ. (2006). “I remember that . . .”: Reminiscence groups with people with dementia. A valuable site for practice learning. Groupwork, 16(1), 7-28.
40.
PiasekP.IrvingK.SmeatonA. F. (2012). Case study in SenseCam use as an intervention technology for early-stage dementia. International Journal of Computers in Healthcare, 1(4), 304-319.
41.
PolitisA. M.VozzellaS.MayerL. S.OnyikeC. U.BakerA. S.LyketsosC. G. (2004). A randomized, controlled, clinical trial of activity therapy for apathy in patients with dementia residing in long-term care. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 19(11), 1087-1094. doi:10.1002/gps.1215
42.
Sarne-FleischmannV.TractinskyN. (2008). Development and evaluation of a personalised multimedia system for reminiscence therapy in Alzheimer’s patients. International Journal of Social and Humanistic Computing, 1(1), 81-96. doi: 10.1504/IJSHC.2008.020482
43.
Sarne-FleischmannV.TractinskyN.DwolatzkyT.RiefI. (2011). Personalized reminiscence therapy for patients with Alzheimer’s disease using a computerized system. In Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on Pervasive Technologies Related to Assistive Environments (PETRA ’11). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/2141622.2141679
44.
ShikA. W.YueJ. S.-C.TangK. (2009). Life is beautiful: Using reminiscence groups to promote well-being among Chinese older people with mild dementia. Groupwork, 19(2), 8-27.
45.
SmithK. L.Crete-NishihataM.DamianakisT.BaeckerR. M.MarzialiE. (2009). Multimedia biographies: A Reminiscence and social stimulus tool for persons with cognitive impairment. Journal of Technology in Human Services, 27(4), 287-306. doi:10.1080/15228830903329831
46.
SuT.-W.WuL.-L.LinC.-P. (2012). The prevalence of dementia and depression in Taiwanese institutionalized leprosy patients, and the effectiveness evaluation of reminiscence therapy: A longitudinal, single-blind, randomized control study. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 27(2), 187-196. doi:10.1002/gps.2707
47.
SubramaniamP.WoodsB. (2010). Towards the therapeutic use of information and communication technology in reminiscence work for people with dementia: A systematic review. International Journal of Computers in Healthcare, 1(2), 106-125.
48.
SubramaniamP.WoodsB. (2012). The impact of individual reminiscence therapy for people with dementia: systematic review. Expert Review of Neurotherapeutics, 12(5), 545-555.
49.
ThorgrimsenL.SchweitzerP.OrrellM. (2002). Evaluating reminiscence for people with dementia: A pilot study. The Arts in Psychotherapy, 29, 93-97.
50.
TolsonD.SchofieldI. (2012). Football reminiscence for men with dementia: Lessons from a realistic evaluation. Nursing Inquiry, 19(1), 63-70. doi:10.1111/j.1440-1800.2011.00581.x
51.
WallaceJ.ThiemeA.WoodG.SchofieldG.OlivierP. (2012). Enabling self, intimacy and a sense of home in dementia: An enquiry into design in a hospital setting. In Proceedings of the 2012 ACM Annual Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’12) (pp. 2629-2638). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/2207676.2208654
52.
WallaceJ.WrightP. C.McCarthyJ.GreenD. P.ThomasJ.OlivierP. (2013). A design-led inquiry into personhood in dementia. In Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems (CHI ’13) (pp. 2617-2626). New York, NY: ACM Press. doi:10.1145/2470654.2481363
53.
WangJ.-J. (2007). Group reminiscence therapy for cognitive and affective function of demented elderly in Taiwan. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 22, 1235-1240. doi:10.1002/gps.1821
54.
WangJ.-J.YenM.OuYangW.-C. (2009). Group reminiscence intervention in Taiwanese elders with dementia. Archives of Gerontology and Geriatrics, 49, 227-232. doi:10.1016/j.archger.2008.08.007
55.
WoodsB.SpectorA. E.JonesC. A.OrrellM.DaviesS. P. (2009). Reminiscence therapy for dementia. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 1.
56.
YamagamiT.OosawaM.ItoS.YamaguchiH. (2007). Effect of activity reminiscence therapy as brain-activating rehabilitation for elderly people with and without dementia. Psychogeriatrics, 7(2), 69-75. doi:10.1111/j.1479-8301.2007.00189.x
57.
YasudaK.KuwabaraK.KuwaharaN.AbeS.TetsutaniN. (2009). Effectiveness of personalised reminiscence photo videos for individuals with dementia. Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 19(4), 603-619. doi:10.1080/09602010802586216
58.
YasudaK.KuwaharaN.KuwabaraK.MorimotoK.TetsutaniN. (2013). Daily assistance for individuals with dementia via videophone. American Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease and Other Dementias, 28(5), 508-516. doi:10.1177/1533317513494440
59.
YasudaK.KuwaharaN.MorimotoK. (2009). Remote reminiscence talking and scheduling prompter for individuals with dementia using video phone. In Proceedings of the 5th International Conference on Universal Access in Human-Computer Interaction: Addressing Diversity. Part I: Held as Part of HCI International 2009 (UAHCI ‘09) (pp. 429-438). San Diego, CA: Springer-Verlag. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-02707-9_49
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
