Project Overview

Person-centred care is critical in supporting people with dementia, particularly in hospital settings where unmet needs can lead to responsive behaviors such as confusion and agitation. These behaviours are often caused by stress and are preventable through personalized, non-pharmacological interventions. WhatMatters is a digital app designed to support person-centred care for people with dementia in hospitals by enabling families to remotely share reassuring videos, familiar photos, and music to comfort the person with dementia.

(1) To examine the benefits (effectiveness) of WhatMatters, a digital mobile app, in improving the quality of life and reducing responsive behaviours in hospitalized patients with dementia.
(2) To evaluate the challenges and practical strategies (barriers and enablers) for implementing WhatMatters in a hospital setting.

No research has explored using a digital app for hospital dementia care. This pilot study examines both intervention effects and implementation process:
1, Examine Effectiveness: A small randomized control trial to assess the effects of the app on quality of life and responsive behaviours on hospitalized patients with dementia.
2, Process Evaluation: Qualitative interviews and focus groups with people with dementia, families, staff, and hospital decision-makers to identify challenges and practical strategies for implementation.

People with dementia can experience high stress, especially in unfamiliar hospital environments. The WhatMatters app provides a personalized, non-pharmacological intervention by enabling family members from anywhere in the world to support the patient through meaningful resources (music, photos, and videos). This study contributes to improving dementia care in hospitals to enable person-centred care that could be scaled for large impact to benefit both patients and staff.

This study enables active family partnerships by allowing them to share comforting videos, familiar photos, and meaningful music with people living with dementia in hospitals. This approach brings calm and safety to individuals in an unfamiliar and stressful environment. The results will contribute to improving hospital dementia care by preventing unnecessary, risky, and costly behavioral events, such as antipsychotic medications, falls, and injuries—that can severely affect quality of life.

Principal Investigator

Lillian Hung , University of British Columbia

Partners and Donors

Alzheimer Society of Canada