Using video to support survey completion

Numbers of people: depends on how the video will be accessed, for example, on your website or youtube, or on a patient intranet, or DVD.

Pros and cons:

Useful for: enabling people to complete a survey for themselves who may want to do so but not otherwise be able to do so. Potentially freeing up staff from supervising survey completion.

Downsides and risks: depending on the setting, this relies on access to appropriate technology and ability of the person with dementia, or someone supporting them, to work the technology.  

Costs: depending on the setting, there may be in-house audio-visual expertise which may bring down film-making costs considerably. Use of external agencies could be very expensive. 

Timing: you need to allow plenty of time to plan video component of survey design and piloting, and allow lots of time for someone who may be slow, or need to take several breaks, to use the video to understand the questions and note their responses. 

Preparation:

Be clear who you want to reach using video - what communication needs do they have - for example are they lip-readers, British Sign Language users, people who find reading words difficult... and plan the presentation of the questions on the video to meet those needs. For example a person speaking to camera in good light against a clear background, with subtitles and in-vision sign interpreter might enable you to reach a wide range of people through one piece of video.

How to use the Video

• you could use video to present the questions.
  • A video presenting the questions can be paused to allow the person - or people - completing it, time to gather their thoughts, or to take a break and come back to it later. This could enable someone to complete the survey for themselves, rather than have someone else complete it for them, or rush them because they need to attend to other service users.
• you could use video to respond to the questions.