Leonie Cutts and Craig Browne, the well-known innovative partnership behind CCS Corporation, a company that has been creating hugely popular games and game-like learning and development products used all over the world in entertainment, education, counselling, healthcare, manufacturing, finance, IT, transport, federal, state and local governments, and more.
These dynamic founders are now taking on the challenge of eradicating social isolation in residential aged care with an innovative app called, CARISA – a mobile application that provides simple image-driven game-like activities that anyone can use to spark fresh conversations.
Carers can use CARISA to provide social emotional support during daily practice, and families can use it to have better, more meaningful visits with their loved ones.
CARISA is being trialled in several aged care facilities in the Hunter CC region with promising early signs. Carer observations indicate that CARISA’s image-driven activities consistently produce very high levels of resident engagement, improvement in mood, and insights into resident’s life experiences and lifestyle preferences. They also recognise the app’s role in creating continuity, recall and meaning in resident’s lives.
While initially targeting residential aged care facilities RACFs, the CARISA team are also investigating other cohorts that could benefit from more frequent and better-quality social contact, such as in-home care, retirees, and intergenerational encounters between high school students and elders.
