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conferenceseries
.com
Volume 7, Issue 6 (Suppl)
J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism, an open access journal
ISSN: 2161-0460
Dementia 2017
October 16-18, 2017
ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE & DEMENTIA
October 16-18, 2017 | Rome, Italy
9
th
International Conference on
Computerized analysis of conversational trouble and repair in people with dementia and their carers
Helen Chenery
Bond University, Australia
S
martphones, the growth in third party software solutions (termed apps), big data analytics and other digital health
technologies promise to transform the treatment of a range of health conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease and other
dementias. For people living with dementia, the gradual decline of communication abilities contributes to reduced quality of
life and increased social isolation. For their carers, communication difficulties are listed as one of top stressors that contribute
to their burden of care. Yet relatively little research has been published describing the application of digital technology to
understanding and eventually even assisting the communication particularly the conversational, difficulties in dementia. In
this research, we analyzed transcripts of conversations from 20 people with dementia and their carers using an automated
discourse analysis tool called Discursis™. Discursis measures the recurrence of conversational (semantic) content over the time
course of the conversation. Discursis metrics were compared with coded instances of trouble and repair in the conversations.
This analysis allowed the identification of a list of specific Discursis metrics which signaled trouble and repair sequences in
the conversations thereby generating a computerized script that highlighted periods of significant conversational breakdown
between people with dementia and their carers. These results are an important precursor to developing a smart communication
assistive device for people with dementia and their carers.
Biography
Helen Chenery has a Masters and PhD from The University of Queensland and researches in the area of Language Neuroscience specifically language disorders
that result from acquired neurological damage or disease. She has published over 120 papers in refereed journals. She is currently an Executive Dean of the
Faculty of Health Sciences and Medicine at Bond University.
hsmexecdean@bond.edu.auHelen Chenery, J Alzheimers Dis Parkinsonism 2017, 7:6(Suppl)
DOI: 10.4172/2161-0460-C1-033