Supporting companies to design better technological products for people living with dementia – a case study

Description

Background: Technology plays an important role in withstanding the quality of life of people with dementia (PWD) living at home. The Interreg NWE Project [name] aimed to support small and medium companies producing or selling technologies for PWD and their families. In the project we set up and strengthen an international network defining standards for technology in the context of dementia. We provided certificates for products recognized as beneficial and useful for PWD, and we offered to the companies a “Design support” encouraging them to improve their current product based on 1) Interaction, 2) Information, 3) Aesthetics, 4) Functionality.

Method: The products were evaluated in Living Labs (LL) for about eight weeks. During this period PWD and their families used the products, and data on their experiences were gathered through a questionnaire. These results became the basis for the design support.

Results: Nine companies involved in the project received design support. The support was provided by three professional designers as following: 1) the results from the study were analysed and presented to the company, 2) the company and the designer defined the focus for the next phase, 3) several co-creation sessions took place to improve the selected aspects and 4) the results were delivered to the company.

We found that companies appreciated the professional support since they often did not have the capacity or skills in-house to test, rethink or redesign their technology offering. Companies were confident on the aspects related to functionality, but often required support on the products’ aesthetics.

Discussion: We present the feedback on 1) the protocol and its replicability, 2) the quality of the results collected from the questionnaires, 3) the (co-creation) sessions, 4) the results delivered to the companies and 5) a reflection on the scalability of the design support after the project's end.

Period	18 Oct 2023
Event title	33rd Alzheimer Europe Conference, AEC 2023: New opportunities in dementia care, policy and research
Event type	Conference
Conference number	33
Location	Helsinki, FinlandShow on map
Degree of Recognition	International