The effectiveness of smart home technologies to support the health outcomes of community-dwelling older adults living with dementia: A scoping review

OBJECTIVES To map the current state-of-knowledge about the effectiveness of smart home technologies to support the health outcomes of community-dwelling older adults living with dementia. DESIGN A scoping review following the methodological frameworks described by Arksey and O'Malley (2005) and Levac et al. (2010). DATA SOURCES Electronic databases and online sources were searched in April 2020 using database specific medical subject headings and keywords about 'smart homes' and 'dementia'. METHODS Empirical peer-reviewed articles were included if they were written in English; used a quantitative, qualitative, or mixed method design; and presented the effects of a smart home technology on the health outcomes of community-dwelling adults living with dementia. Methodological and reporting quality of studies was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool - Version 2018. RESULTS Five studies described evaluations of five smart home technology systems with a total of n = 617 community-dwelling people living with dementia. Collectively, studies showed potential effectiveness of the technologies on a range of health outcomes (physical activity, activities of daily living, sleep, anxiety, depression, agitation, irritability, risk of falls, cognitive functioning, night-time injury, unattended home exits). However, the overall methodological and reporting quality of studies was low and profiled a research field lacking in rigorous evaluation. CONCLUSIONS Based on current evidence, the success of smart home technologies to support people with dementia to live at home remains unclear. Recommendations are provided to inform future research into smart home technologies for community-based dementia care.