Appel Lora, Peisachovich Eva, Sinclair Don, Jokel Regina, Da Silva Celina
Medical Education and Simulation, York University, Toronto, CAN.
Neurology, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, CAN.
Cureus. 2020 Feb 11;12(2):e6949. doi: 10.7759/cureus.6949.
The dementia epidemic continues to affect families across Canada. The number of persons living with dementia (PLWD) is projected to reach 1.1 million over the next 20 years, placing further financial and resource constraints on the Canadian healthcare system. Caregiver education is vital in ensuring the quality of life and safety for PLWD and can increase the time they are able to live at home, which is correlated with positive outcomes for both PLWD and their caregivers, and a reduction in system costs. However, current educational support often requires individuals to travel to local, urban service care centers and educational content is often provided in English, which can exacerbate the difficulties faced by marginalized caregivers (e.g., immigrants and those living in rural settings) who are caring for PLWD. To address this issue, a team of researchers developed a serious game called "SafeHome" that teaches safety strategies by having players identify and rectify potential hazards in the home setting that may negatively impact on PLWD outcomes, such as falls. A usability study was conducted using an adapted, validated questionnaire and semi-structured focus groups to better understand users' experience and obtain suggestions for the SafeHome serious game improvement. Results indicated that 80% of the participants were satisfied with the activities provided through SafeHome. All participants (n = 13) made recommendations for improving the usability, functionality, and comprehensiveness of the educational content. This feedback will inform future iterations of SafeHome and add valuable contributions to the growing literature on innovative e-learning resources that support PLWD and their caregivers.
痴呆症流行继续影响着加拿大各地的家庭。预计在未来20年里，痴呆症患者的数量将达到110万，这将给加拿大医疗保健系统带来进一步的财政和资源压力。照顾者教育对于确保痴呆症患者的生活质量和安全至关重要，并且可以延长他们在家生活的时间，这与痴呆症患者及其照顾者的积极结果相关，还能降低系统成本。然而，目前的教育支持通常要求个人前往当地的城市服务护理中心，而且教育内容通常以英语提供，这可能会加剧边缘化照顾者（如移民和生活在农村地区的人）在照顾痴呆症患者时所面临的困难。为了解决这个问题，一组研究人员开发了一款名为“安全之家”的严肃游戏，通过让玩家识别并纠正家庭环境中可能对痴呆症患者的结果产生负面影响的潜在危险（如跌倒）来教授安全策略。使用经过改编和验证的问卷以及半结构化焦点小组进行了一项可用性研究，以更好地了解用户体验并获取改进“安全之家”严肃游戏的建议。结果表明，80%的参与者对通过“安全之家”提供的活动感到满意。所有参与者（n = 13）都对提高教育内容的可用性、功能性和全面性提出了建议。这些反馈将为“安全之家”的未来迭代提供参考，并为支持痴呆症患者及其照顾者的创新电子学习资源的不断增长的文献做出宝贵贡献。
