CC BY 4.0 DEED Attribution 4.0 InternationalCurnow, EleanorMaclean, FionaMcCormack, Brendan2024-05-212024-05-212024-05-21Curnow, E., Maclean, F. and McCormack, B. (2024) ‘Assistive technology: Occupational therapy assessment and services for people with dementia’, British Journal of Occupational Therapy, 87(9), pp. 564–573. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1177/03080226241252280.https://eresearch.qmu.ac.uk/handle/20.500.12289/13734https://doi.org/10.1177/03080226241252280Eleanor Curnow - ORCID: 0000-0001-9332-8248 https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9332-8248Fiona Maclean - ORCID: 0000-0003-0946-4891 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0946-4891Introduction: Research suggests that services are not effectively providing suitable assistive technology for people with dementia. There is a need to understand the challenges facing practitioners to identify where service changes should be focussed to improve this situation. Method: This study used an online survey to explore the experiences of 41 occupational therapists working with people with dementia, and/or assistive technology. Eight participants subsequently agreed to participate in online discussion groups. Group discussions were transcribed and checked. Data responses from group discussions and open questions in the survey were analysed thematically using the person-centred framework to identify domains supporting or obstructing effective assistive technology service delivery. Results: Forty-one occupational therapist participants described challenges to providing person-centred assistive technology services. These included restricted access to assistive technology interventions, limited knowledge regarding developments in the field, variable funding, unsupportive systems, limited relevant training and difficulties working across health and social care sectors. Conclusion: There is a need to revise the systems surrounding the provision of assistive technology for people with dementia. Occupational therapists need access to training relative to this field, and systems need to be adapted to support the provision of person-centred care by widening access to assistive technology.564–573en© The Author(s) 2024. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) which permits any use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access pages (https://us.sagepub.com/en-us/nam/open-access-at-sage).http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Assistive TechnologyOccupational TherapyDementiaPerson-centred PracticeArticle