technology
Found in translation
A new project aims to develop technology that translates conversations between older CALD adults with dementia and carers .
Frances Batchelor interviewed by Dallas Bastian
The ability to talk into a device and have it translate and relay the message to another person could be a game changer for people with dementia from culturally and linguistically diverse ( CALD ) backgrounds , improving care and reducing the need for potentially avoidable hospitalisations .
This is the thinking behind Talk2Me , a project by the National Ageing Research Institute ( NARI ), Curve Tomorrow and Mercy Health that has received funding from the Department of Health .
Talk2Me aims to fill a gap in the marketplace through the development of a voice-to-voice translation tool , designed with the needs of older people , particularly those living with dementia , in mind .
Dr Frances Batchelor , NARI ’ s director of health promotion , said people from CALD backgrounds with dementia living at home do not always receive care from ethno-specific organisations or from people who speak the same language .
“ Talk2Me has the potential to make long-term changes to the way older people with dementia from CALD backgrounds receive care in the community by helping them remain in their own home for as long as possible ,” Batchelor said .
Amanda Bowe , Mercy Health operations director , home and community care , said her organisation cares for people from a variety of cultural backgrounds living with dementia and that it ’ s essential its community care team members can clearly communicate with clients to ensure their needs are being met .
Bowe said : “ Talk2Me will be a fantastic resource for our community care team and will no doubt help strengthen the close bonds they already share with our clients .”
Aged Care Insite spoke with Batchelor about the accuracy of translation tools and how Talk2Me will differ from the technology currently on the market .
ACI : How does voice-to-voice translation technology work ? FB : Voice-to-voice translation is something that already exists . So people might be familiar with voice-to-voice translation that ’ s already out there such as Google Translate . What generally happens is that someone has a device – for example , a smartphone or a tablet – and they open an application such as Google Translate . They select two different languages – so it might be English to Greek – and speak into the microphone . Then the voice-to-voice translation processes that in the background and then talks back , if you like , in the other language .
As you mentioned , the technology already exists , but the research team said current tools haven ’ t been designed with the needs of older people in mind , including those with dementia . What are some of the limitations of the technology that ’ s already on the market ? How will the Talk2Me Project go about addressing some of those shortcomings ? Some of the limitations are that people using the existing technology need to be very familiar with things like smartphones and tablets . Sometimes that interface is quite difficult for people to navigate , not only older people but in general . Additionally , people from different cultural backgrounds may not have as much experience at navigating devices and apps . So what is really needed is an interface that ’ s easy to use , that ’ s suitable for older people , and that people with some form of cognitive impairment can use .
32 agedcareinsite . com . au