Cooperation in healthcare

Commissioned by a consortium of healthcare institutions in the South of The Netherlands (Municipality of Geldrop-Mierlo, PuntExtra, Zuidzorg and Ananz), STBY and Waag conducted a study to identify the needs among older people for new services supporting independent living at home.

The aim of this study was to get a better understanding how elderly people are living independently, maybe with the help of relatives or friends, but without the aid of professional institutions. Some of the important questions raised in the study were: Why do elderly prefer to keep living independently? What are the difficulties they encounter in their situation? What support do they get from their social environment? We have looked at practical issues as well as mental and social aspects, as these all come together in everyday life.

Notes of the conversations, drawings and combined with various photographs were used as input for a workshop with the client team to discuss the insights from the research and to identify the opportunities for new support services. To enable the client team to communicate the results from the study to other people in their organisations, a small book was made. This book explains and illustrated the process and the results of the study.