Maddie Radnan

Research Student

Research Program: Music Cognition and Action

Thesis Title

Time Travelling with Technology (TTT): The effect of technology enhanced reminiscence therapy on engagement and carer relationships of people with dementia in aged care facilities.

Research Project

Dementia in Australia is an exponentially increasing concern with an aging population that is predicted to see reported cases of dementia triple to 900,000 by 2050. Progression of Dementia is characterised by cognitive (language, memory, perception, personality, cognition) and behavioural (social engagement, movement, ability to perform everyday living activities) impairments. These manifest as, but are not limited to, an increase in apathy, depression, and anti-social behaviour, resulting in a lack of engagement and reduced quality of relationships. This is greatly evidenced amongst the elderly with later stages of dementia and further heightened once relocated into nursing home facilities. This is particularly due to living within a contextually novel environment amongst care staff and other residents that are unfamiliar with pasts histories and identity.

Time Travelling with Technology (TTT) is an immersive, dynamic and interactive interface that utilises Google Liquid Galaxy to explore worldly landmarks and locations. In an aged care facility, TTT will be utilised as a platform for technology driven reminiscence therapy. It will give residents the opportunity to travel to both significant and insignificant locations. The current research aims to explore how TTT impacts the level of engagement of residents and influences the relationship between resident and staff members of three different aged care facilities.

Qualifications and Honours

• BAdvSci(Hons): Bachelor of Advance Science (Honours) with Honours Class 1 in Neuroscience and majors in Neuroscience and Psychology.

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