Article

The aim of this study was to examine relatives' perception of an
assistive technology intervention aimed at persons with dementia (PwDs) and their
relatives, and to examine whether, and how, experiences of the intervention
process differed between relatives valuing the intervention to be of high, and
relatives perceiving it to be of low significance. METHOD: A total of 47
relatives of PwDs within the Swedish Technology and Dementia project were
interviewed telephonically using a modified version of the Patient perspective on
Care and Rehabilitation process instrument. A total of 46 participants were
divided into two groups depending on whether they valued the intervention to be
of great significance (GS group; N = 33) or of some/no significance (SNS group; N
= 13). RESULTS: Several aspects of the intervention were perceived as highly
important, e.g. being shown consideration and respect, and having somewhere to
turn. The results indicate that relatives in the GS group perceived certain
aspects of the intervention process as highly fulfilled to a larger extent than
did relatives in the SNS group. CONCLUSIONS: This study illustrates how process
evaluations can be used to increase the understanding and to identify improvement
aspects of interventions. IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION: Process evaluation is
a good method for understanding how interventions can be improved - a keystone
for quality work. Based on relatives' ratings, a high fulfilment of the AT
intervention process was associated with the perception of a significant outcome
of the intervention.

Langue : ANGLAIS