Tinder report backs tech support for people with dementia

Technology can help people living with dementia and their carers, a report by a digital charity has argued.

Published in September, the Tinder Foundation’s 36-page report argues that basic digital skills can improve a patient’s relationship with health care professionals and digital technology can be successfully embedded into dementia care.

The report was based on a small number of responses taken from January to April this year. But, it also included findings from the much larger, three year Widening Digital Participation programme and the charity’s lottery funded programme, Reboot, which looked at people with mental health issues. 

Helen Milner, chief executive at the Tinder Foundation, said: “Digital is not just a channel where you push out services; it’s actually something that can be very empowering for patients and their carers.

“It’s really important that health care professionals from all different aspects of the health and social care sector are listening to the fact that digital has such an important role to play.”

The five community partners that provided the 19 responses from people with dementia, and 32 responses from carers, were: Age UK South Tyneside, Canada Water Library in London, Denby Dale Centre in West Yorkshire, Lincs Training, and Oasis Community Centre in Nottinghamshire.

One recommendation was to create digital champions, health care professionals who work with people with dementia to teach them basic digital skills.

Milner added she would hope to expand the report through NHS Digital supporting another programme, like Widening Digital Participation, that would allow her charity to put these recommendations into practice.

The report said 850,000 people in the UK have dementia, and there are 670,000 informal carers of people with dementia.