Innovative app helps to give family members of people with dementia 'peace of mind'

An increasing number of people living longer and with multiple long-term health conditions, has led to care homes and carers finding themselves under pressure to deliver high-quality person-centred care despite a persistent lack of time, funding and low staff retention rates.

The market for technologies designed to help care staff to meet the needs of residents and service users is growing and now an increasing number of technologies, resources and apps are available for people to use for free. Many of these are specifically for those with dementia or cognitive impairment and provide them with a connection to loved ones or entertainment on a daily basis.

MindMate is the latest app designed to provide care staff, carers and people living with dementia with entertainment and a platform where they can record memories, set reminders, listen to music and play brain stimulating games.

Improving self-management

Co-founder Patrick Renner commented: “MindMate has been designed to improve self-management of dementia and to help engage people. Following the launch in October 2015, the app has been downloaded by families and carers of people with dementia and is being used in care home settings.

“The app provides the opportunity for its users to create photo books, play games together and connect with family members through a video chat option.

“MindMate is available for free for single users allowing people to try the app, while MindMate Plus has been adopted by some independent care homes across the UK. The app is also available to larger care home groups with access to the same iPad or iPhone and allows them to create multiple user profiles.”

Described by its creators as a ‘guardian angel’, MindMate was designed by a team of graduates from Strathclyde University and the University of Glasgow who were supported throughout the app’s development by a team of specialist advisors.

The idea for MindMate came after one of the co-founders of Mind Mate, Rogelio Arellano's own grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s and he became a carer for him but found there were no tools available to help with the delivery of care or to help engage his grandfather.

The MindMate platform consists of three apps, one for someone living with dementia, one for a carer or family member and one for people living in residential care.

Mr Renner said: “The app features four main sections, including one with brain training games, a tool section with a photo book option, and the function to set reminders, a third connection option where users can send messages to others or video chat. The final section contains music, nutrition advice and tips for exercising, collating different information in one app ensuring that people don’t have to switch app.

“The unique thing about MindMate is that we have incorporated several features in one easy to use place, using the same interface making it much less confusing for someone with dementia.”

Reducing isolation and keeping people connected

The app was funded through competition prizes and has been supported by angel-led accelerator programme, Ignite. Based in Newscastle the programme supports entrepreneurs, developers and designers to make a difference.

During its development, the MindMate team worked with and continue to work with a range of dementia organisations and care homes across the UK, designing a prototype and testing it with 100 volunteers, including people living with dementia and their carers.

Campaigner Tommy Whitelaw was a full-time carer to his mother for five years following a diagnosis with vascular dementia. He is now touring the UK holding 528 talks in hospitals and universities in 26 months about his experience providing care for his mother, listing to the stories of others and raising awareness of the impact dementia has on families.

He was approached by the MindMate team to act as a dementia community advisor and to help find people to test the app.

Speaking about the app, Mr Whitelaw said: “The best thing about the app is that it’s free for people to use. My campaign began with me walking round Scotland and asking people to write to me about their experiences of caring and some of the words that kept appearing in the letters were love, loneliness and isolation. An app like this can help with loneliness and isolation, by allowing people to keep in touch with their loved ones.

“Often families care from a distance and have relatives in a care home or have relatives in different places and the app allows people to connect, whether they’re in a care home or in a hospital and it allows people to upload and share photos of their experiences so people don’t feel so anxious and isolated when they’re in those places. The best way to feel reassured when you feel alone is to speak to someone that you love and someone who loves you.”

Helping people to 'live well' with dementia

Speaking about the use of technology to support the delivery of care, he said: “Loneliness appears all the time and we have to find better ways to do things in the lifestyles that we lead. The word ‘guilt’ comes up a lot and the app can help people to keep connected and to feel part of their family, supported and live well.

“There’s so many things I didn’t know when was caring for my mum that I’ve learnt about since I’ve been campaigning so I’m really keen to give people information on all the options to enable them to have the best possible support. I think it really has the potential to help people to live well with dementia.”

There are more than 15,000 people using the single user version of the app worldwide already, including people who don’t have dementia but still find various functions of the app useful to them. The MindMate team already have plans to develop a version for use on Android and desktop or laptop computers, making the software accessible to everyone.

Mr Renner added: “The latest version of the MindMate Plus is under development and will allow carers and family members remote access to the app, allowing them to set reminders and add photos and have contact with the main user of the app, giving them peace of mind.”