As a follow up to AAL’s work throughout Alzheimer’s month I was asked to highlight my role in the work being done on the possibilities in using technology to help support caregivers of people with dementia, something at the heart of what AAL is focused on. One of the ways that caregivers of people with dementia can be supported, is through eHealth, the use of the internet to improve health outcomes, for instance through apps that help organise dementia care.

I am a researcher with the Interdisciplinary Network for Dementia Using Current Technology (INDUCT), based in Maastricht University, the Netherlands. I have just completed my doctoral research on the implementation of eHealth to support caregivers of people with dementia.

We did this research, because previous studies have shown that only 3% of psychosocial interventions for caregivers of people with dementia are implemented into practice. With these findings we hope to be able to help with the implementation of more of these promising eHealth solutions and so support more caregivers as they care for people with dementia.