Ethical telehealth design for users with dementia

Purpose People suffering from dementia deserve to be treated with the same respect and dignity as other members of society, including in system design. An important part of inclusive system design is ethical consideration of stakeholders. Method From the 125 people who participated in the full study, 26 people suffering various stages of dementia actively used a system developed in the United Kingdom to connect to 109 family members across the USA and UK. Results The implementation of the system helped improve access to services, inclusion into the digital world, and for some people who had more severe dementia, provided a platform to use relatively intact intellectual skills to enhance their life quality. Conclusion Ethical design reduces stigma by causing cognitive dissonance between social perceptions of people with dementia and the reality of their use of telehealth systems to enhance their wellbeing, despite their disabilities.