No. Such technologies are starting to be explored for use in Brazil by the industries and universities; however, they are still incipient and are purchased mainly by wealthy people. There is also an important barrier for approval of commercialization of such devices by the government due to unknown reasons, but we speculate this might be due to e.g., bureaucracy, concerns about safety, and political interests. There is no official information about this for consultation.

Yes, but there are no local studies so far exploring carers’ use of social media or other technologies in their care provision.

Social media acts as a channel for disseminating dementia-related information and articles to caregivers. Four dementia-related pages established by local parties are identified on Facebook:

1. Hong Kong Alzheimer’s Disease Association;
2. St. James’ Settlement;
3. Big Silver;
4. Community self-initiated.

Technology also allows caregivers to form virtual groups easily and support each other. It has been commonly observed that caregivers would form group chats via instant messaging tools (e.g., WhatsApp) (Christian Family Service Centre, 2016). And two dementia caregiver groups are identified on Facebook. Moreover, a local NGO, the Hong Kong Sheng Kung Hui Welfare Council Limited, has developed a mobile application ‘Act of Love. Trace Me’ to search for missing people with dementia and to provide support to their families. Through this application, information of the missing person will be posted on a Facebook page. The application is available for both iOS and Android system.

For more information on the use of GPS tracking and other technologies in dementia care, please refer to Part 7.

References:

Christian Family Service Centre. (2016, 22 January 2016). Corporate Communications – Media Coverage: Primelink Press Con – Wenweipo. Retrieved from https://www.cfsc.org.hk/en/whatsNew/detail/1071

Yes, please refer to part 7.

Technologies, such as the mobile application Qlue in Jakarta may play a role in supporting people with dementia and their carers, but there is no evidence regarding its success so far. A 2019 study authored by Yogyakarta students and published by the Ministry of Communication and Information focused on prototype machine learning with forward-chaining method to support the diagnosis of dementia (Badan Litbangkes Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia, n.d.; Kementerian Riset dan Teknologi/Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional, n.d.; Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia, n.d.).

References:

Badan Litbangkes Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia. (n.d.). Badan Litbangkes Kementerian Kesehatan Republik Indonesia.

Kementerian Riset dan Teknologi/Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional. (n.d.). Kementerian Riset dan Teknologi / Badan Riset dan Inovasi Nasional. https://www.ristekbrin.go.id/

Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia. (n.d.). Lembaga Ilmu Pengetahuan Indonesia.

No data was sourced for this question.

No data available.

According to an online news article, a Facebook support group has been launched by the Livewell Villages (i.e., a private dementia care facility in Cape Town and Johannesburg – see https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/health/online-dementia-support-group-launched-16682452), and is reportedly well received by the limited number of participants that are able to access it. This platform is used as a safe space for persons living with dementia as well as family members and carers to come to terms with the diagnosis, as well as manage the effects of dementia (IOL, 2018). GPS tracking technologies are available in the county and are purchased as subscription costs to track the movements of children, vulnerable adults, and belongings. Although these platforms are available in South Africa, it is unclear to what extent social media and technologies are used to provide support in the role of caring for persons living with dementia in South Africa as this data is not publicly available.

References:

IOL. (2018). Online dementia support group launched. IOL Health and Wellness. Available from: https://www.iol.co.za/lifestyle/health/online-dementia-support-group-launched-16682452