O.N. Patijn MSc MRes (Olga)

Due to the aging of our population, most western countries are faced with new and pressing healthcare challenges. Complex comorbidity is on the rise and on average 1 in 4 people will develop dementia within their lifetime. In order keep the up with the demand and ensure the quality of our health care system we need to move from a medical curative system which is reactive, to an integral patient centered preventative system.

Part of preventative patient centered care is allowing people to age in place safely. The Nivel institute defined quality of life, for elderly living at home, as ‘being able keep doing the things that are important to me’. This centered around being able to continue hobbies, social contacts and a lifestyle that fitted them, in an environment that was familiar to them. Ambient assisted living (AAL) and telehealth can play a significant role in safely extending senior home living by providing options and tools for socialization, healthcare and security.  At the same time adoption of new technology by elderly patients has been very low. There are several factors contributing to this like cognitive decline, low self-efficacy and a miss match in implementation strategy.

In this study we explore in a real life setting how to improve adoption and engagement of ALL and telehealth technology in its 3 main end user groups: Elderly patients, their families and the health care providers (HCP) in a home setting.

Domi-ster project - Living Lab Velp 

Context living lab Velp: This describes the use and implementation of a home smart system in the homes of vulnerable elderly to stay at home longer. The home smart system in question is the genus care digital photo frame which 7 sensors and an option for sending messages, photos and video calling while having an interface that is extremely simplified and suited for people with cognitive vulnerability. The Domi-ster project has 5 partners Genus Care (production company), Tico Care (distribution and helpdesk), Doop (software developer), Een Plus (health care centre Velp) and Innoforte (large care organization, the residential care branch in involved in this project. The Domi-ster living lab has 4 main goals: 
1. Using co-creation and iterative design to develop a home smart system and an implementation protocol that is suited for end user with limited tech skill and/or suffering for cognitive challenges like dementia, MS, or Parkinson.
2. Actively working together with the health care organizations involved (one care center and one elderly care organization) to implement a cross disciplinary telehealth network for vulnerable elderly to manage to rapidly increasing demand for care in Velp.   
3. Empowering the family of the patient through sensor technology and telecommunication technology that are suited for their vulnerable relative with limited tech skills and/or cognitive impairment. 
4. Using sensor technology to improve health outcomes. In the short-term care modules will be developed with the care providers to induce positive behavior change through nudging. The main themes are (medication management, malnutrition, therapy adherence and exercise). In the long term the sensor data will be used to work on prediction models for delirium, fall prevention, progression of dementia, MS, and Parkinson.    

Organisations

• Faculty of Engineering Technology (ET), Interaction Design (IxD)