Project SUCCESS: Kick-off Meeting at TECHbase

From 6 to 8 March, the SUCCESS (SUccessful Caregiver Communication and Everyday Situation Support in dementia care) kick-off meeting took place at TECHbase Vienna. Coordinated by AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, companies from Austria, Cyprus, Romania, Norway and Canada cooperate in this project in order to develop a smartphone app for caregivers of people with dementia.

Dementia is a fast growing chronic disease that affects the behaviour and communication abilities of people suffering from this neurological disorder. Caregivers are often challenged by this fact, so it needs adapted strategies from the surrounding people to avoid misunderstandings that could lead to stress, helplessness, aggressive situations and caregiver burnout.

SUCCESS provides an innovative training application on the user’s mobile device to support and accompany caregivers to appropriately and effectively interact with people living with dementia. The app guides them on how to react in specific situations and provides strategies for emotional support – it trains caregivers to handle their own feelings in an appropriate way.

Project coordinator Markus Garschall: „It is our goal to make professional know-how on communication and interaction strategies available in a way that informal caregivers of people with dementia as well as their affected relatives can directly benefit from it. In many cases simple recommendations can make a real difference.”

SUCCESS is funded by the European Commission and national funding agencies as part of the AAL programme.