The Inviting Music Player: A Case Study on Design for Loss of Initiative in Dementia

Rik Wesselink, Geke Ludden, Marike Hettinga, Berry Eggen

Music can have a positive effect on the quality of life of people with dementia (PwD). Unfortunately, PwD have limited access to music due to difficulties in product use and loss of initiative. Most studies on designing for PwD focus on improving the interaction design and do not consider the loss of initiative PwD experience. We propose that products for PwD must be easy to use and consider the loss of initiative. We consider loss of initiative a critical factor in design for dementia and use the design and evaluation of a music player for PwD as a showcase to illustrate how to design for loss of initiative. This showcase demonstrates how an interactive product can invite PwD to play music and helps to identify ways to consider loss of initiative in design. Finally, we reflect on the design through in-situ evaluations with a high-fidelity prototype.