Promoting Reminiscence and Social Interaction Through a Multisensory Toolkit – A Non-pharmacological Intervention for People Living with Dementia

Abstract

Around 55 million people worldwide have dementia, a neurocognitive disorder that progressively reduces the ability of people to think, comprehend, communicate, and undertake daily living tasks which impacts on their quality of life and wellbeing. Although there is no cure for dementia, environments that encourage reminiscence, promote social interaction, and stimulate cognitive and physical activity have been found to be beneficial. In collaboration with experts working with people with dementia we have developed AMuSED (Active Multi-Sensory Environment for people living with Dementia), a non-pharmacological intervention that provides engagement, stimulation, and social interaction, through themed multisensory table-top boxes. AMuSED boxes can be used in home, community, care home and hospital settings by individuals or groups and are affordable, portable, adaptable and can be personalised. Each highly visual AMuSED Box contains a fusion of physical and digital elements that aim to promote activity and support cognitive wellbeing of people with dementia whilst helping them to connect with their caregivers and each other. One such co-design collaboration has been with The Museum of English Rural Life (MERL), resulting in the Countryside Edition AMuSED Box which encourages reminiscence through digital elements such as videos of country fairs, recordings of Morris dancing tunes, recordable photo albums, and recordable buttons that capture and play sounds related to the countryside combined with traditional elements such as wool, hops, and aroma releasing capsules of farmyards and plants, which together recreate the countryside experience and encourage reminiscence of life lived memories within and between generations.