Repetitive memorization mobile application development for elderly memory recall

Abstract

The aging process in human being will eventually develop some degree of decline in cognitive capacity and show a variety of symptoms associated with it such as forgetfulness. Forgetfulness might lead to frustration as it hinders elderly from carrying out their daily life activities. Living a healthy aging life, the spiritual aspect is considered essential by older adults. Muslims believe that their spirituality could be improved through some of their religious practices, one of it is prayer. During prayer, a Muslim recite short chapter from the Quran which they learn to memorize since they were children. As they grow older, they experience cognitive decline and forget the verses that they used to remember. This lead to frustration among the Muslim elderly as they are unable to perform their religious practice. Therefore, we studied the most suitable memorization technique and apply it in the development of mobile application that could help elderly in memorizing Quranic Verses. We interviewed an expert to understand the memorizing process. Based on these findings, we designed the system processes of the mobile application and implement the repetitive memorization technique using the rule based expert system to suggest what the user need to memorize based on the usage history. The rule based expert system should be able to optimize the memorization process that the user experienced and subsequently help elderly to memorize the Quranic Verses. This would eventually enhance their spirituality and also improve their memory.