Colloquia

Summary

Population ageing and the rising prevalence of dementia place increasing pressure on healthcare systems, including staff shortages. In the Netherlands, where ageing in place is a key policy goal, sensor-based technologies and AI are often promoted as solutions to staff shortages. Yet, the success of technology use in practice depends less on technical capability but more on implementation. Nurses, the largest professional group in healthcare and those most closely involved in daily care, are frequently expected to adapt their practice to systems that can disrupt workflows and add to workload. Therefore, this thesis shifts the focus from improving technology itself to supporting the practices that shape its use.

My project was carried out in collaboration with Sensire, specifically in one of their dementia care centres in Zutphen. Using a design research approach guided by the Double Diamond framework, the work combined literature review, expert interviews, ethnographically informed field visits, and co-design sessions with nurses. The result is a toolkit co-developed and iteratively refined with nurses to strengthen communication, reflection, and collective action. 
To encourage adoption, the toolkit was developed in Dutch, with erasable sections for daily use and straightforward printed materials for elements that require continuity. 
This thesis contributes both a concrete design outcome and broader insights into technology implementation in elderly care. It shows how patient-centred dementia care is strengthened when staff needs are prioritised, and when everyday practices of communication and collaboration are reinforced. While grounded in one case study, the lessons extend to other care contexts for older adults where effective technology use depends on supporting those who provide the care.