Active involvement

Technology is often presented as a means to support independence and wellbeing in the everyday lives of people with dementia. The risk of inappropriate, unattractive or less useful technology is obviously greater the further the designer's perceptions and competencies diverge from those of the user. This gap is likely to be greater when designing for users with dementia. This can result in products that focus too much on feelings of safety (e.g. monitoring risks), rather than improving the experience of living with dementia itself.

Furthermore, current assistive technologies for progressive syndromes, such as dementia, may not be sufficiently flexible to meet the changing needs of their users. In addition, there is great diversity within the group of 'people with dementia', such as differences in demographics (e.g. socio-economic status) and personality (e.g. acceptance of the diagnosis), but also due to the diversity of specific diseases, each with different behavioral, cognitive and emotional consequences. This diversity in itself poses a major challenge for researchers and developers who want to design technologies that people with dementia really want and can use. It is therefore crucial to have a comprehensive understanding of the dynamic needs, wishes and capabilities of people with dementia.

The research in this PhD study focuses on gaining a more complete understanding of how people with dementia can play an active role in the different phases of the development of new assistive technologies. In various evaluations of design research practices with people with dementia, the existing knowledge base on (co-)design methodologies is further updated and expanded.