JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

The prevalence of dementia has led to a growing interest in wearable technologies to assist patients and their caregivers. Despite their potential, these technologies face low adoption rates, often attributed to poor aesthetic design and insufficient consideration of user experience.

Objective:

This study aims to investigate the relationship between the aesthetic design of wearable devices and their adoption by individuals with dementia. It seeks to identify how visual and emotional elements may influence the acceptability of such devices and how future design could enhance their usability, thereby supporting both patients and caregivers.

Methods:

A critical interpretive synthesis (CIS) with a systematic search was conducted across two databases: Web of Science and Scopus. Studies were included if they reported on the current use of wearable technologies in dementia care or provided value in qualitative studies addressing attitudes from patients and their caregivers towards the wearable product. Two authors independently screened the abstracts and full texts to extract data, and additional studies were included using the forward and backward referencing technique.

Results:

This review included 62 studies. The findings indicate that aesthetically pleasing designs can significantly improve user engagement. Devices that foster emotional connections and a sense of comfort and identity are more likely to be adopted by patients. Enhanced aesthetics also benefit caregivers by enabling more accurate and continuous data collection.

Conclusions:

This review is the first to synthesise the essential role of aesthetics in dementia care, highlighting the urgent need for a critical evaluation of its impact. Findings reveal a tension between emerging and traditional technologies, with institutional aesthetics and symbolic associations in smartwatches often triggering resistance from users, who perceive them as intrusive or stigmatizing. By introducing a tailored framework for aesthetically driven wearable design, this research provides actionable insights for healthcare designers and stakeholders, ensuring that technological innovation aligns with emotional, sensory, and symbolic dimensions—ultimately fostering acceptance and well-being in dementia care.