Developing a supportive tool to facilitate shared decision making in dementia: involvement of end users in the design phase

Developing an IT application facilitating Shared Decision Making (SDM) in dementia is complex. This is caused by the increasing cognitive decline associated with dementia and the number of involved people (people with dementia, informal caregivers and case managers). The aim of this study is to identify design issues in developing a user-friendly IT application facilitating Shared decision-making in dementia. Data collection in this study with an iterative participatory design based on the CeHRes roadmap included: focus group interviews with people with dementia, informal caregivers and case managers; a cognitive walkthrough with researchers; and a first usability test with case managers. This resulted in a list of issues addressing the quality of the system, content and service and a revision of the tool before informal caregivers and people with dementia will be invited to participate in usability tests