Portal of the elderly: development and evaluation of the website with informations about Alzheimer´s Disease and its consequences for communication

Author(s)

Aline Megumi Arakawa

• Document type: Doctoral Thesis
• Press: Bauru.
• Institution: Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Faculdade de Odontologia de Bauru (FOB/SDB)
• Defense date: 2015-02-27

Examining board members

Magali de Lourdes Caldana; Patricia Abreu Pinheiro Crenitte; Dionisia Aparecida Cusin Lamonica; Rita de Cássia Moura Carvalho Lauris; Patricia Pupin Mandra

• Advisor: Magali de Lourdes Caldana

Abstract

This research aimed to develop and evaluate a website with information on Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences area focusing on Alzheimer\'s Disease (AD). The website was developed containing information about AD attempting to use a simple and clear language with concise content. The content was created by collecting information about AD in books and scientific articles indexed in databases. It was used the Flesch index to check the material intelligibility, resulting most of the content with the corresponding percentile \"easy\". The website development followed the steps: analysis and planning, modelling, implementation and evaluation. Accessibility-related aspects composed the website providing greater scope and range. Invited evaluators were part of the categories: elderly (E), caregiver of elderly (CE) and speech language and hearing therapists (SLHT). The sample consisted of 16 elderly (mean age of 74.12 years), 12 caregivers of elderly (mean age of 41.50 years) and 28 SLHT (mean age of 29.93 years). The majority (80.36%) were females, who often accessed the Internet (92.9%) and from different educational levels. Statistical analysis was performed using the Kruskal-Wallis and Spearmans Correlation Coefficient test. The website content was rated as \"excellent\" with the highest rating in submenu 6 (93.7%) and the lowest in submenu 2 (90%). A significant difference was verified between the overall score of the content evaluation and the categories E x SLHT and E x CE (with better evaluations scored by SLHT and CE, respectively). By analyzing each submenu, according to the categories, it was found statistically significant differences in submenus 2, 4 and 7 between categories E x SLHT (with better evaluations performed by SLHT). The website technical quality evaluation presented as adequate, with the highest rating performed by the subscale \"public\" (91.5%) and the lowest \"accuracy\" (64%). There was no statistically significant difference between the categories and subscales or the overall score. Thus it is concluded that the website and its contents about AD are a reliable reference source or complementing information. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 13/08987-9 - Portal of the elderly: development of a virtual learning environment with focus on Alzheimer's Disease and the demage in communication
• Grantee: Aline Megumi Arakawa
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate