Author: Charlèss Dupont
Date: 13-03-2024
Supervisor:
Prof. Lieve Van den Block, End-of-Life Care Research Group, Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Co-supervisor:
Prof. Tinne Smets, End-of-Life Care Research Group, Faculty of Medicine & Pharmacy, Vrije Universiteit Brussel
SUMMARY OF THE DISSERTATION
Advance care planning (ACP) is important in dementia due to the unpredictable pace of cognitive decline and the potential transfer of decision-making responsibilities to family caregivers in later stages. ACP is a communication process that enables individuals to identify their values, define goals and preferences for future care, and discuss these with family and healthcare professionals. Interactive web-based tools, such as websites or apps, have been proposed to support ACP, offering accessible, tailored content that can adapted to the changing needs of people with dementia and their families throughout the disease progression.
To support ACP in dementia, an interactive website has been developed with input from people living with dementia, their families, and healthcare professionals. The first part of this dissertation outlines the website's content and functionalities, determined through various research methods. In the second part, the website underwent evaluation in the real world by people with dementia and their families to assess its acceptability, feasibility, usability, and potential to support ACP in dementia.
Charlèss Dupont has a background in nursing, communication and health policy. She is a researcher at the End-of-Life Care Research Group (Vrije Universiteit Brussel – Ghent University).
