Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to understand factors that affect viewing of television news programmes by people living with dementia, and to identify dementia-friendly design principles for television news programmes and factors for personalising object-based media broadcast.Design/methodology/approachExtensive public involvement comprising two discussion groups with people with dementia and family carers informed the study design and provided supplementary secondary data. Primary data collection comprised a focus group interview with people with dementia (n=4) and family carers (n=4). Past viewing experiences and perceived barriers and facilitators to viewing television were explored. Participants commented on an array of video clips comprising varying segments of fictional news programmes, plus control versions of each segment.FindingsFour themes were identified: content (general comments, context, type of media and pace); presenter (body language, clothing and accent); background (location and studio appearance); and technical aspects (graphics, sound, colours, camera, transitions, general issues).Research limitations/implicationsLimitations included a modest sample size which is offset by exemplary public involvement in informing the study design.Practical implicationsMeasures ensured research involvement and participation was made accessible to people living with dementia.Social implicationsParticipants benefited from sharing views with peers and expressed enhanced wellbeing from knowing their participation could lead to improved television viewing, an important social occupation, for people with dementia in the future.Originality/valueThis study is the first to be published which focusses on dementia-friendly television news programmes.
Highlights
Television viewingThere is strong potential for development of programme content that meets the needs and demands of people with cognitive impairments (Knall and Östlund, 2009)
Our findings indicate a few simple steps which, if adopted by news programme producers, could enable them to create television news programmes which are more accessible to people with dementia
The issues discussed here are relevant to people without dementia who view television news programmes; we found that for people with dementia, the challenges are amplified
Summary
There is strong potential for development of programme content that meets the needs and demands of people with cognitive impairments (Knall and Östlund, 2009). 1), “Dementia is not a single specific disease, it is an overall term used to describe a syndrome associated with more than 100 different diseases that are characterised by the impairment of brain functions, including language, memory, perception, personality and cognitive skills”. People with dementia, even in its earlier stages, may experience major challenges presented by them losing track of conversations (Holst and Hallberg, 2003), losing track of time (Nygård and Borell, 1998), and forgetting names and events (Keady et al, 1995)
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