Dr. Anne Turner, a professor at the University of Washington with expertise in both health systems and biomedical informatics, led an enlightening webinar on "Decision-Making in Dementia Care: Preferences of People with Memory Loss," hosted by the PennAITech Collaboratory for Healthy Aging. Dr. Turner's presentation delved into the challenges that individuals with dementia face in participating in decisions about their care as their condition progresses. She introduced the 'Demar Project,' aimed at developing tools to better capture and respect the preferences of dementia patients throughout their care journey. Through multidisciplinary efforts and user-centered design principles, her team has been designing a preference elicitation tool that simplifies decision-making processes for those with memory loss. Key takeaways included the importance of involving patients directly in decision-making to respect their personal preferences and the innovative approach of using simple, clear choice scenarios to facilitate easier decision-making for individuals experiencing cognitive challenges.

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