State-of-the-Art HCI for Dementia Care: A Scoping Review of Recent Technological Advances

2025-05-07

AI Summary

This study addresses critical challenges in early-stage dementia care—insufficient personalization, declining autonomy, and caregiver burden. Through a systematic scoping review of 32 human-computer interaction (HCI) interventions, it analyzes technological applications across dementia support domains. The work makes three key contributions: first, it introduces a novel four-dimensional classification framework—encompassing daily living assistance, social communication, psychological support, and caregiver empowerment; second, it identifies critical gaps in personalization, accessibility, and ethical alignment for early intervention; third, it proposes a user-centered, accessibility-driven, and ethics-grounded implementation roadmap. Integrating intelligent hardware, age-inclusive interfaces, remote communication systems, and affective computing technologies, the study synthesizes empirically supported pathways to enhance quality of life. The findings offer researchers, clinicians, and policymakers a theoretically rigorous yet translationally viable guide for designing and deploying HCI-based dementia interventions.

Technology Category

• Humans and AI: Intelligent User Interfaces
• Application Domains: Humanities & Computational Social Science
• Intelligent Robots: Human-Robot Interaction

Application Category

• User Modeling, Personalization and Recommendation: Accountability, Transparency, and Ethics for personalization
• Responsible Web: Data and user privacy-enhancing technologies for the Web
• Economics, Online Markets and Human Computation: Research challenges in human and human-AI computation

Abstract

Dementia significantly impacts cognitive, behavioral, and functional abilities, creating challenges for both individuals and caregivers. Recent advancements in HCI have introduced innovative technological solutions to support people with dementia (PwD) and their caregivers. This scoping review systematically examines 32 recent publications from leading digital libraries, categorizing technological interventions into four key domains: Assistive and Smart Technology for Daily Life, Social Interaction and Communication, Well-being and Psychological Support, and Caregiver Support and Training. Our analysis highlights how emerging technologies are transforming dementia care. These technologies enhance quality of life by promoting independence, fostering social engagement, and providing emotional and cognitive support. However, the review also identifies critical gaps, particularly in addressing the needs of individuals with early-stage dementia and the lack of individualized support mechanisms. By emphasizing user-centered design, accessibility, and ethical considerations, this paper offers a structured roadmap for future research and practice in dementia care. It bridges the gap between technological innovation and the real-world needs of PwD and their caregivers, providing valuable insights for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers. This review not only synthesizes current advancements but also sets the stage for future HCI-driven innovations in dementia care, aiming to improve outcomes for an aging global population.

Problem

• Exploring HCI technologies to support dementia patients and caregivers
• Identifying gaps in early-stage dementia and individualized support
• Providing a roadmap for future dementia care research and practice

Innovation

• Assistive smart tech enhances daily life independence
• Social interaction tools foster dementia patient engagement
• User-centered design improves personalized care accessibility