Background: Occupational therapists support everyday technology use; however, it is necessary to consider the challenges that people with dementia encounter with everyday technologies when participating in various places within public space.

Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore stability and change in participation in places visited within public space in relation to the relevance of everyday technologies used within public space.

Method: People with dementia (n = 35) and people with no known cognitive impairment (n = 34) were interviewed using the Participation in Activities and Places Outside Home Questionnaire and the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire. Data analysis used modern and classical test theory.

Findings: Both samples participated in places within public space; however, participation and relevance of everyday technologies were significantly lower for the dementia group.

IMPLICATIONS: To enable participation, occupational therapists need to be aware of challenges that technologies and places within public space present to people with dementia.

Description: Les ergothérapeutes favorisent l’utilisation des technologies courantes; toutefois, il est essentiel de prendre en compte les difficultés rencontrées par les personnes atteintes d’une démence face aux technologies courantes lorsqu’elles participent à des activités dans divers lieux situés dans l’espace public. But. Cette étude visait à explorer la stabilité et le changement en matière de participation dans des lieux fréquentés dans l’espace public, en lien avec la pertinence des technologies courantes utilisées dans l’espace public.

Méthodologie: Des entrevues ont été effectuées auprès de personnes atteintes de démence (n = 35) et de personnes n’ayant aucun trouble cognitif connu (n = 34) à l’aide du Participation in Activities and Places Outside Home Questionnaire et du Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire. L’analyse de données était basée sur la théorie moderne et classique des tests.

Résultats: Les deux échantillons ont participé à différentes activités dans des lieux situés dans l’espace public; toutefois, la participation et la pertinence des technologies courantes étaient beaucoup plus faibles chez le groupe de personnes atteintes d’une démence.

Conséquences: Pour favoriser la participation des personnes atteintes de démence, les ergothérapeutes doivent être conscients des difficultés rencontrées par ces personnes face aux technologies et aux lieux situés dans l’espace public.

BACKGROUND: The health-promoting qualities of participation as an opportunity for social and cognitive engagement are well known. Use of Everyday Technology such as Smartphones or ATMs, as enabling or disabling factors for out-of-home participation is however under-researched, particularly among older people with and without dementia. Out-of-home participation involves participation in places and activities outside of a person's home, in public space. Situated within the context of an increasingly technological society, the study investigated factors such as perceived risks, access to a concession travel pass and use of Everyday Technologies, and their relationship with out-of-home participation, among older people in the UK.

METHODS: One hundred twenty-eight older people with and without dementia in urban and rural environments in the UK, were interviewed using the Participation in ACTivities and Places OUTside Home (ACT-OUT) Questionnaire and the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ). Associations between Everyday Technology use, perceived risk of falling, functional impairment, access to a concession travel pass and out-of-home participation were investigated using ordinal regression.

RESULTS: A higher probability of Everyday Technology use (Odds Ratio [OR] = 1.492; 95% Confidence Interval [CI] = 1.041-1.127), perceived risk of falling outside home (OR = 2.499; 95% CI = 1.235-5.053) and, access to a concession travel pass (OR = 3.943; 95% CI = 1.970-7.893) were associated with a higher level of out-of-home participation. However, other types of risk (getting lost; feeling stressed or embarrassed) were not associated with out-of-home participation. Having a functional impairment was associated with a low probability of a higher level of out-of-home participation (OR = .470; 95% CI = .181-1.223). Across the sample, 'outside home' Everyday Technologies were used to a higher degree than 'portable' Everyday Technologies which can be used both in and outside home.

CONCLUSIONS: The study provides insights into perceived risks, access to a concession travel pass and use of Everyday Technologies, and their relationship with out-of-home participation, among older people in the UK. Increased knowledge about factors associated with out-of-home participation may help to guide targeted health and social care planning.

Social participation is a modifiable determinant for health and wellbeing among older people; however, social participation is increasingly dependent on technology use. This study investigated social participation in relation to Everyday Technology use and social deprivation of the living environment, among older people with and without dementia in the United Kingdom. Sixty-four people with dementia and sixty-four people without dementia were interviewed using standardized questionnaires: The Participation in ACTivities and Places OUTside Home Questionnaire and Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire. A mixed methods approach integrated statistical analyses and content analysis of free-text responses, through data visualizations. Small, statistically significant associations were found between social participation and Everyday Technology use outside home, for participants with dementia (R_s = 0.247; p = 0.049) and without dementia (R_s = 0.343; p = 0.006). A small, statistically significant association was identified between social participation and social deprivation in the living environment, among only participants with dementia (R_s = 0.267, p = 0.033). The content analysis and graphical joint display revealed motivators, considerations that require extra attention, and strategies for managing social participation. The results underline how Everyday Technology use can be assistive to social participation but also the need to consider social deprivation of the living environment, especially among people with dementia.

The role of Everyday Technology (ET) use is presented as subsidiary or neutral in policy for age- and dementia-friendly communities; and yet, research suggests that older people, especially those with dementia, experience increased challenges using ET in their everyday lives. Through the lens of micro-citizenship, the study aims to deepen the knowledge about how use of ET outside the home, including portable ETs, relates to participation in places visited within public space among people with dementia over time. Using a longitudinal study design, 35 people with dementia were recruited at baseline and followed over three years. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews using standardised questionnaires: the Participation in ACTivities and Places OUTside Home Questionnaire (ACT-OUT) and the Everyday Technology Use Questionnaire (ETUQ). Random intercept modelling and descriptive statistics were used to analyse the data. Throughout the three-year study, decreasing use of ET outside the home, including portable ETs, was associated with decreasing participation in places visited within public space, in a statistically significant way when controlling for age (F = 7.59, p = 0.01). The findings indicate that facilitating access and use of ET outside the home, among people with dementia, should be integral to promoting and maintaining participation in age- and dementia-friendly communities.