DemKonnect - Dementia Care App app for iPhone and iPad

Nightingales Medical Trust’s DemKonnect app aims to remove the Stigma around the disease by educating as well as providing access to care and support from the comfort and familiarity of the person’s home.

One of the major issues surrounding Dementia is the lack of awareness around the condition. Reserach proves that catching the symptoms early and intervening with lifestyle modification can delay the repurcussions. However there is a lot of hesitation in consulting a Psychiatrist. This app enables the user to screen themselves in the privacy of a home. The app can enable detect the symptoms early and this can then be followed up with a consultation with a specialist, either in person or through a video call.

The app will also enable care providers to keep in touch with the Dementia expert they have consulted through video calls and quick chats.

Later iterations of the app will enable caregivers to track the care plan developed by the Dementia specialist. This is essential both for the care provider and for the caregiver as it will ensure continuity of care. The person with Dementia can also be engaged at home using brain activities and games built into the app.

Caregivers can connect with each other to create a strong caring community. This can be useful when it comes to lobbying with law makers for reforms and laws. It can also help in tackling crisis situations and comparing notes on products which can help enhance care.

The app can also assist in finding service providers who can provide quality care for loved ones.

Dementia: Dementia is the progressive decline of mental faculties like memory, learning, orientation, language, comprehension, and judgment. The decline is very gradual, debilitating and depressing. In the early stages, the afflicted person undergoes memory loss, and is unable to recall familiar names and places or everyday objects. Sometimes the person also undergoes personality changes. As the condition progresses, the person gets increasingly dependant on others for even simple tasks like eating, bathing and brushing their teeth. Sufferers sometimes cannot recognize their spouses, children or long-time friends. And the family has to cope with not just the trauma of losing a loved member, but also the demands of 24-hour care and vigilance, which can be draining, both emotionally and financially. In the advanced stages of Dementia, the person is bed-ridden and suffers for anywhere between a month and a year. Compared to other countries, India lags woefully behind in Dementia Care.

Nightingales Medical Trust: Nightingales Medical Trust (NMT) is a professionally managed not-for-profit organization working for the wellbeing of the elderly since 1998. The Trust strives to strengthen family bonds and promote community-based support systems, and provides a system of affordable and accessible services, thereby setting new trends in age care. The Trust works towards the welfare of the elderly through various innovative projects focusing on Dementia Care, Active Ageing, Elder Abuse, Social Integration, Empowerment and Capacity Building.