JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

Background:

Care home placements offer important opportunities for student nurses to develop relational and person-centred approaches to dementia care. Digital reminiscence platforms are increasingly used to support the wellbeing of people living with dementia; however, little is known about how such platforms may shape student learning within practice settings. There is limited qualitative evidence examining how digital reminiscence is experienced by students and how it influences their understanding of personhood, relationships, and care practices.

Objective:

This study explored undergraduate nursing students’ experiences of engaging with individualised digital reminiscence using the InspireD reminiscence app during care home placements.

Methods:

A qualitative exploratory design was employed. Thirteen undergraduate student nurses used the InspireD digital reminiscence app with residents in dementia-registered care homes during clinical placement. Following placement, students participated in focus groups (N=4). Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.

Results:

Three themes were developed to capture how participants made sense of their learning and practice experiences when engaging with individual reminiscence using the InspireD reminiscence app. The first theme, “Deepening empathy and understanding through reminiscence”, describes how participants developed greater appreciation of residents’ life histories and personhood. The second theme, “Learning through connection”, reflects how relationships with residents and families shaped communication, confidence, and emotional engagement. The third theme, “Growing as person-centred practitioners within care home realities”, highlights how participants reflected on translating this learning into practice while navigating organisational constraints and everyday care demands.

Conclusions:

Findings suggest that the InspireD reminiscence app can support the development of person-centred learning within care home placements, although their impact is contingent on supportive organisational cultures. These findings contribute to wider discussions in health professions education by illustrating how digital platforms can mediate experiential learning in practice settings and support the preparation of future health professionals to use digital tools in relational and values-based ways. Further research is needed to examine longer-term learning outcomes and implementation across diverse placement contexts. Clinical Trial: NA