01.10.2022 - 01.09.2026

HOMEDEM

The Doctoral Network HOMEDEM provides high-level training in design and dementia caregiving to a new generation of high achieving, early-stage researchers.

HOMEDEM is a Marie-Skłodowska-Curie Action Doctoral Network that brings together leading European higher education and research institutions from Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, and Portugal. Each partner contributes unique expertise in dementia care, design, technology, gerontology, psychology, and health economics. This cross-disciplinary collaboration fosters the exchange of ideas, best practices, and innovative solutions, enriching our understanding of dementia care across diverse cultural and healthcare contexts.

HOMEDEM Mindmap

Research Themes

Responding to changing relationships

HOMEDEM aims to explore and improve relationship dynamics in dementia care by investigating the impact on daily life. We develop supportive tools through co-design for better communication, decision-making, and role management and evaluate their effectiveness on health, relationships, and well-being in various social contexts and care dyads.

Responding to changing needs in the living environment

HOMEDEM focuses on enhancing the living environment for community-dwelling PwD and their carers by understanding their evolving needs and aspirations. We develop supportive home interventions through co-design methods and evaluate their impact and integration potential in care ecosystems, considering economic, societal, and individual effects.

Designing for responsive and sustainable care ecosystems

HOMEDEM looks towards co-design strategies to create adaptive, personalized care ecosystems for PwD that focus on their participation in life. Objectives include analyzing existing care systems, developing respectful interventions, and evaluating funding models for scalability and sustainability across micro, meso, and macro levels.

Research projects

Rising Lai: Responding to changing relationships. Co-design communication products andservices with PwD living at home (PhD-project)

Supervisors: Prof. dr. Niels Hendriks, Dr. Andrea Wilkinson, Dr. Sara Bartels

Rising Lai is a designer-researcher with a background in industrial product design. Her early career focused on universal design and inclusivity, and she has built a rich portfolio of experience in design research, product development, and artistic expression. Her design practice is committed to fostering dialogue and generating positive social impact.

In her HOMEDEM project, she is exploring the co-design of communication products with people with dementia (PwD), aiming to support shared decision-making in home care environments and promote autonomy. The initial phase of her research involves defining the scope and conducting a preliminary literature review, accompanied by reflective written notes. Looking ahead, her work will include immersive observation sessions in community-based care homes and a secondment with Huis Perrekes, laying the groundwork for data collection and analysis. Her goal is to develop innovative communication tools that strengthen interactions between PwDs and their primary informal caregivers.

Explore the HOMEDEM website.

Website

Network

LUCA School of Arts - Rising Lai

KU Leuven - Ajda Flisar

Maastricht University - Marine Markaryan

University of Aveiro - Sunny Tan

TU Eindhoven - Alicia Valencia

Politecnico di Milano - Alicia Valencia & Andrea Nakakawa Bernal

University of Galway - Vamsi Krishna Boyanagari

Funding

This project has received funding from European Union's EU Framework Programme for Research and Innovation Europe Horizon Europe (HORIZON) Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions Doctoral Networks (MSCA-DN) under the grant agreement 101072827.