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Doctors should ‘prescribe’ dementia patients online chat rooms ‘so they can find companionship in battle against cruel memory-robbing disease’
- Researchers analysed 100 conversation threads from Alzheimer’s Society’s tool
- Chat rooms helped users adjust to life with the condition, study found
- Almost one million people in the UK have been diagnosed with dementia
Doctors should prescribe online chat rooms to dementia patients to fill a gap in support, a study suggests.
Patients who chatted to others diagnosed with the disease online reported feeling less isolated and worried about the future, a study found.
Experts said the tools including the forum developed by the Alzheimer’s Society, should be prescribed to patients.
Researchers from the University of Bournemouth and the University of Nottingham, analysed 100 conversation threads of the ‘Dementia Talking Point’ hosted by the Alzheimer’s Society
With almost a million people in the UK diagnosed with dementia and numbers set to soar, they say chat rooms could be a cost-effective support tool for the NHS.
Researchers from the University of Bournemouth and the University of Nottingham, analysed 100 conversation threads of the ‘Dementia Talking Point’ hosted by the Alzheimer’s Society.
Chat rooms helped users cope with the initial diagnosis and adjust to life with the condition, they found, making the future less daunting.
It was also useful for sharing experiences of creative activities for therapy, such as painting and crafts.
Users with certain types of dementia, in particular young-onset dementia, commented in their posts about their being a lack of support for specifically for them and they therefore found the forum to be a ‘lifeline’.
Others spoke about finding it difficult to talk to their friends and family members about their condition and taking to the online space allowed them to be honest about what they were experiencing.
The researchers suggest that clinicians, support workers and organisations could recommend online support forums to people with dementia, in addition to providing their regular in-person care
Lead author Dr Catherine Talbot, of Bournemouth University, said: ‘People with dementia have reported feeling isolated, confused, and having a loss of identity after being diagnosed.
‘Our study found that online forums allow them to find companionship with others going through the same experience which can be really valuable to them.’
The research team hope that this study will lead to increased recognition about the value of online support for people living with the condition.
Writing in the journal Age and Ageing, they advise it can provide an additional, cost-effective way to find advice from others who understand what they are going through.
Debbie Ellor, of the Alzheimer’s Society, said: ‘No family affected by dementia should face it alone, but sadly our research showed that three in five people didn’t receive enough support in the last year.
‘While there’s clearly power in a likeminded, understanding community that’s easy to access online, ultimately we need more support from the health and social care system for families with dementia.’