Embracing the power of technology to tackle loneliness and connect people living with dementia

Loneliness is a widespread, harmful phenomenon. In 2023, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it to be a ‘global public health concern’ and launched an international commission on social connection. The physical and mental health repercussions of social isolation – living alone, with limited social contact – and loneliness – how a person feels about their circumstances – can be severe, ranging from high blood pressure and heart disease, to drug abuse and suicide. 

Loneliness and social isolation are also associated with cognitive decline, and can increase a person’s risk of developing dementia by around 60%. Loneliness and social isolation appear to be risk factors for those already living with dementia, too, exacerbating symptoms and accelerating decline. 

The precise reasons are unknown: cause and effect are hard to pinpoint, and scientists have been calling for more research. What is clear is that far more needs to be done to tackle loneliness and social isolation among those living with dementia who are usually older and therefore more likely to live alone, to lose family and friends, and to experience hearing loss (a condition associated with dementia). In fact, a 2020 study reports that around a third of people living with dementia say they are lonely. 

At the same time, living independently at home rather than in a care setting can be beneficial for people with dementia, and 85% of people say they would prefer living at home if diagnosed. This means support needs to tread a fine line, both enabling independence and ensuring social connectivity. As Adele Ostfield, Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) member for the Longitude Prize on Dementia and Seniors Advisory Panel member at the Centre for Aging + Brain Health Innovation (CABHI), tells us: “independence should not lead to isolation as isolation is the exact opposite of social connectedness”. 

How can tech help? 

Technology has a powerful role to play here. Breakthroughs in digital tech can help address loneliness while also boosting independence, in ways unimaginable just a few years ago. AI, the internet of things, voice recognition, and multiple types of Information & Communication Technologies (ICT’s) offer radical potential to increase people’s self-reliance, self-confidence, and their ability to communicate easily with others. Far from increasing isolation, the self-belief brought by innovations in dementia support can give people the confidence to stay connected with others. 

The Longitude Prize on Dementia is a strong advocate of this approach. At each stage of the prize, we encourage candidates to consider how their innovations foster social connectivity and reduce isolation. This includes a focus on co-design from day one and on ensuring a genuinely iterative design process that integrates feedback from those with real world experience. The teams are governed by a Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP) and have regular contact with a range of people affected by dementia. 

As Adele Ostfield stresses, “[social connectedness] needs to be a priority, not an afterthought”. Teams are asked to consider whether an innovation isolates a user and how it can be redesigned to increase rather than reduce social contact. This approach has reaped rich rewards – enabling work on innovations that keep people connected to communities and loved ones, encourage mental agility, and build people’s confidence to reach out to others. 

For example, the AI Interactions Advisor devised by Amicus Brain Innovations takes people’s ‘broken’ communications – such as missing words – and uses AI to generate contextually relevant suggestions to plug any gaps. The idea is to address the fear and isolation that language issues can create for people living with dementia and give them the courage to connect with others. 

Developments in virtual reality (VR) are also proving a game changer for dementia support. La Guapa Media’s Porta system uses VR to create familiar environments, reduce anxiety, and support social connectedness. The personalisable system generates recognisable environments from photos and videos, transporting the user to places that bring peace, positive memories, and calm,helping to  reduce the anxiety that affects many people with dementia. It also uses generative AI to simulate the voices of loved ones which are then used in a breathing guide geared towards easing anxiety. 

Family photos and memories also lie at the heart of Memory Lane Games. AI machine learning creates games from old photos, and, with  support from the Longitude Prize on Dementia, the app is being upgraded to adjust the challenge level of games for each user, in line with their fluctuating needs. 

The MemoryConnect system designed by Cardiff Metropolitan University also provides access to activities like board games, reminiscing with pictures or music, and relaxation exercises, either individually or in groups. 

Tailoring tech to diverse global needs 

The versatility of these systems opens up exciting opportunities for dementia care globally. Innovations can adapt both to an individual’s needs and be tailored to meet global variations in social dynamics and attitudes to loneliness, among other factors. For example, in cultures where attitudes to older generations tend to be more respectful and inclusive, tech needs might be very different to those in more atomised cultures. By creating personalised systems tailored to these differences, our innovators aim to boost independence and wellbeing for people with different experiences of dementia around the world. In an ageing world, with spiralling levels of dementia and loneliness, technology capable of connecting people and responding to diverse dementia needs will become ever more crucial. 

Read more about all of our semi-finalist solutions here.