A master thesis from Aalborg University
Forget-Me-Not: - A communication tool for nursing homes to facilitate meaningful mealtime experiences through social interaction.: Improving communication between caregivers and residents through visual life stories and other triggers.
[Forget-Me-Not: - Et samtaleværktøj til plejehjem til facilitering af betydningsfulde måltidsoplevelser gennem social interaktion.: Forbedring af kommunikation mellem plejepersonale og beboere bl.a. ved hjælp af visuelle livshistorier.]
Author(s)
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2015
Submitted on
2015-05-28
Pages
165 pages
Abstract
This master thesis deals with the design of a new service system for Akaciegården nursing home that aims to improve mealtime experiences focusing on aspects related to communication and social interaction. The project is based upon qualitative data collected during fieldwork studies at Akaciegården nursing home revealing that barriers to communication between residents and caregivers exist contributing to isolation and lack of togetherness among residents. From an empathic design approach and use of service design tools, the service “Forget-Me-Not” is designed as a tool to trigger and support face-toface communication benefiting both residents and caregivers. The service is delivered through a big touch screen to be used in common areas hanging on the wall or as brought to couch areas. The main touch point is an application with the two modules “Icebreaker” and “Life stories”. Both modules provides visual means for communication, where the former provides topics for conversations that are easy to grasp, and the latter focus on the life stories of the residents as basis for more personal and deep conversations. Improving mealtime experiences by a focus on social interaction further touches upon preventing problems of malnutrition, which is a problem in Danish nursing homes in general. This is based on the notion that sitting with people you know and like makes you sit longer at the table and possibly eat more. Test results showed that a lo-fi prototype of Forget-Me-Not contributed to trigger and improve communication, generated more conversations, and further contributed to caregivers learning more about residents. However, further tests with a digital prototype of the service must be carried out to measure success more carefully.
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