Apathy, a disorder characterized by (1) diminished motivation, (2) reduced goal-directed behavior, goal-directed cognitive activity, and emotions, and (3) functional impairments (Robert etal., Reference Robert2009), is a frequent symptom across all forms of dementia (Clarke etal., Reference Clarke2008). In patients with Alzheimer’s disease (AD), apathy is the most common neuropsychiatric symptom (Zhao etal., Reference Zhao2016).

There is a range of negative consequences associated with apathy including a highly increased risk for mortality (Nijsten etal., Reference Nijsten2017). However, in many studies, apathy is often measured only as a secondary outcome. Moreover, there is a lack of studies with patients with apathy but without depression (Nobis and Husain, Reference Nobis and Husain2018). Therefore, the study by O’Sullivan etal. (Reference O’Sullivan2021) fills an existing gap in this research field and added new findings on the relationship of non-pharmacological tailored activities on apathy and global and momentary quality of life in nursing home residents with dementia. Furthermore, this is one of the first studies in dementia using Ecological Momentary Assessments (EMA) in their study to collect data immediately before and after each individual activity session to assess current states in the study participants. EMA is a data capture technique to assess real-time data and aims to minimize recall bias (Shiffman etal., Reference Shiffman, Stone and Hufford2008), especially important in populations with memory impairment.

Apathy is not only a key symptom in already existing dementia but can also be considered as a risk factor for the development of dementia. In a meta-analysis (van Dalen etal., Reference Van Dalen, van Wanrooij, van Moll Charante, Brayne, van Gool and Richard2018), apathy was found to be a valid predictor of increased dementia risk, associated with an approximately twofold increased risk of dementia in memory clinic patients. In addition, an association between apathy and a more rapid progression from prodromal states, such as mild cognitive impairment (MCI) to AD, could be shown (Feldman etal., Reference Feldman2007). This suggests that treating apathy at earlier stages of dementia could help prevent disease progression.

The authors raise a crucial point by noting that guideline-based implementation of interventions is necessary but sometimes difficult to accomplish, even more given the immense workload of nurses in hospitals. However, technology-based interventions can facilitate guideline-based implementation by providing prespecified instructions and implementation standards, resulting in fewer deviations from protocol. Thinking further, this is also an aspect to consider in interventions for people with dementia living in the community that are delivered by family caregivers. Most people with dementia prefer to live at home as long as possible, but already require support in daily living, which is usually provided by informal caregivers, mostly spouses or other relatives (Brodaty and Donkin, Reference Brodaty and Donkin2009). In a study of family caregivers of a person with dementia, spousal apathy showed the highest impact on the deterioration of the marital relationship (Vugt etal., Reference Vugt, Riedijk, Aalten, Tibben, van Swieten and Verhey2006). Therefore, it can be concluded that interventions targeting apathy may improve the patient–caregiver relationship and could delay the transition to a nursing home. However, while there is a wide range of available technologies for people with dementia and carers, more evidence about the practical application is necessary (Lorenz etal., Reference Lorenz, Freddolino, Comas-Herrera, Knapp and Damant2019). In the article provided, it was noted that fewer activity sessions were conducted in the study group with the tablet-based intervention compared to the comparison group, which was explained as a result of reluctance and insecurity in the use of new technologies. High acceptance and ease of use are an essential point for the implementation of new technologies, both in professional and informal contexts.