By Anne Kolmans – 15-02-2024
Every quarter one consortium member interviews another consortium member to get to know each other member and help us to get to know the people behind the project. Following the first interview, during which Anne Kolmans (PhD in WP4) was interviewed, she in her turn has a Q&A with Dirk Steijger (PhD in WP3).
Who is Dirk? Could you tell us something about your background and the organization you work for?
“I am 31 years old and live in Tilburg. I first pursued a bachelor’s degree in Pharmaceutical Business Administration at Utrecht University of Applied Sciences. I completed this study when the coronavirus outbreak occurred. Throughout this period, I was employed at the GGD (Public Health Service) while simultaneously pursuing a master’s degree in Global Health at Maastricht University. I stayed in Maastricht and am now employed as a PhD candidate involved in the QoLEAD project.
Within Maastricht University, I am involved with the Alzheimer’s Center Limburg and The Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care. This combination makes my work very diverse and interesting. The Alzheimer’s Center Limburg has a lot of expertise in the diagnosis, prevention, and psychosocial interventions of dementia. The Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care is not a physical location but rather a collaboration between the healthcare landscape and the university and schools in Limburg, focusing on research about the quality of life, care, and work within long-term elderly care. So, it is the perfect combination for my research project! Additionally, this means twice as many colleagues, thus also twice as much coffee!”
What do you like to do in your free time?
“In my free time, I enjoy sports, particularly strength training and running. The focus used to be more on strength training, but this has shifted in recent years. I now find it relaxing to run trails through nature. Last month, for example, I completed a nighttime trail along the beach and through the dunes in the Netherlands. And next week, I have a trail planned that goes through the beautiful hilly landscape of the Ardennes. Besides that, I enjoy reading, as well as beer and good food.”
Could you briefly explain what your specific PhD project focuses on?
“The QoLEAD project focuses on using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve the quality of life for people with dementia and informal caregivers. Because quality of life is a broad concept, the project is divided into different work packages. I am part of work package 3, which focuses on using AI to initiate personalized care to improve the health and safety of people with dementia and their caregivers.
For example, people with dementia may find it difficult to acknowledge and communicate their needs in a timely manner, and caregivers may find it difficult to recognize these individual needs. This can result in unmet needs, possibly decreasing quality of life. In my project, we want to explore how natural language processing (a subtype of AI, where computers can read and analyze texts) can be used to identify patterns in electronic health records or nursing notes. The goal is to early identify patterns (risk factors) that could lead to a decreased quality of life for people with dementia and their informal caregivers. By early intervening with personalized care, we could meet the needs of people with dementia and avoid a decrease in quality of life.”
What attracted you to the project?
“There were several things that attracted me to this project. First, I have personal experience with dementia in my family. Both my own grandmother and my girlfriend’s grandmother had dementia. I saw firsthand how their need for assistance increased and eventually how they had to move to a nursing home. Nursing homes in the Netherlands are well organized, however, everyone wants to stay at home, in their familiar surroundings, for as long as possible. Therefore, I hope that this project will enable people with dementia to live longer at home.
Additionally, research has always interested me, although I did not realize it myself at that time. As a child, I eagerly read magazines like Quest and National Geographic every month. Furthermore, during my master’s, I really enjoyed writing texts as clearly and concisely as possible. I can certainly improve this skill in the coming years by writing a lot about this research.”
Have you worked with people with dementia during this project?
“I have not yet worked with people with dementia during the QoLEAD project. However, during my Bachelor’s, I designed a pill dispenser together with people with dementia. We did this through conversations and small co-creation sessions. Soon, I will be shadowing at a care organization and at the memory clinic to interact with people with dementia. I am really looking forward to this!”
Where do you see the added value of AI for people with dementia?
“I see the real added value of AI for people with dementia in recognizing patterns to gain more insights into the person with dementia. For example, by recognizing patterns in the daily lives of people with dementia (indoors and outdoors) to identify unsafe situations. Additionally, AI could truly contribute as assistive technology to the more complex daily activities of people with beginning dementia, such as managing household finances or household planning.”
QoLEAD is based on the foundation of “Warm Technology” – could you explain in your own words what this means and why it is so important for people with dementia?
“This foundation is very important to me because we want the end-user to actually benefit from it. What we want to avoid is a push for technology. To me, warm technology means that we develop through co-creation and with the needs of the end-users in mind. In this case, we are developing an innovation together with people with dementia and caregivers that meet their need and requirements. By taking this approach, where needs and requirements are central, care remains personal but can be supported by technology.”
What do you think are things that we, as QoLEAD, absolutely should not overlook when designing for people with dementia?
“I hope that with this project, we will actually contribute to the needs of people with dementia and their caregivers. So, I think that it is important not to overlook the individual because, ultimately, that is who we are doing it for. Doing research is fun and interesting, but I think it is also important to be able to contribute something practical to the people with dementia.”
What advice do you have for your fellow researchers within the QoLEAD project in terms of how they can research and/or develop AI for people with dementia?
“Ask each other for help because the wheel does not need to be reinvented. And also, use all the (“new AI”) tools available to conduct research more efficiently.”
What advice do you have for your fellow researchers within the QoLEAD project in terms of how they can research and/or develop AI for people with dementia?
“Ask each other for help because the wheel does not need to be reinvented. And also, use all the (“new AI”) tools available to conduct research more efficiently.”
Are there any other things you’d like to mention?
“There was a really nice atmosphere in this coffee cafe in Den Bosch and thank you especially for the interview. I am curious to see what comes out of it.”
Finally, who will you be interviewing in the next newsletter?
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“For the next newsletter, I will be interviewing Hans Arnold from Joint Artificial Intelligence Network (JAIN), and I’m really looking forward to it!”