Problem

Sense stimulation has proven to be effective for the well-being of people with a dementia diagnose. To obtain this stimulation a patient has to be led by a care giver or a relative. As time and resources are short sense stimulation is not a top priority and isn’t practiced.

Process

In a close collaboration together with a group of architects and interaction designers, we designed and conducted an in-depth research within the field of dementia in care homes with the purpose to create meaningful and thoughtful design solutions to improve the life of people living and working with dementia. We wanted to explore how digital and analogue artefacts could be introduced within this context to serve the purpose of sense stimulation. To help to improve the conditions of the people with a dementia diagnose and the people taking care of them. We came to understand that compassion is as of today not an isolated, prioritised activity when providing care for people with dementia. It becomes secondary and often not provided because of many different factors.

My role

I was to gain substantial information from existing research within the field of design for dementia. Analyse existing tangible artefacts designed with a purpose of sense stimulation already used within the field of elderly care. Engage users both people with a dementia diagnose and people working within the field through interviews, observations and mapping. And finally identify problems and opportunities within the existing field of dementia care as it looks today.

Read more about the project here: DemensX