Field Evaluation Of A Collaborative Memory Aid For Persons With Amnesia And Their Family Members

The loss of memory can have a profound and disabling effect on individuals. People who acquire memory impairments are often unable to live independent lives because they cannot remember what they need to do. In many cases, they rely on family members who live with them to accomplish everyday activities, such as coordinating a doctor's appointment. To design technology for persons with amnesia and their families, we involved end users in the participatory design of a collaborative memory aid called Family-Link. We evaluated Family-Link by comparing it to a commercially available calendar application. We found that participants shared significantly more events when using Family-Link. Qualitative evidence also suggests that Family-Link increased participants' awareness of family members' schedules, enabled caregivers to track the person with amnesia leading to a greater a sense of security and reduced stress, and reduced the amount of caregiver coordination effort. The paper concludes with design implications.