Research: MiND project

Research summary

• March 2016 – February 2020 

The MiND project uses design practices to address the social needs of people with early to mid-stage dementia.

With no cure available, preventive and social approaches that limit the impact of dementia are important. This is a huge social challenge, as around 50 million people worldwide are living with dementia.

MiND used developed innovative solutions that identify people’s needs and support them through self-empowerment and social engagement. The project had three stages: data collection, design development and evaluation. Each stage involved user participation in the development of several products, including:

• the This is Me life storyboard game, now available to buy as All About Us

• the Living the Life mindful reflective booklet

• the You and Me interactive decision-making tool

• a digital platform called Let’s Meet Up!, for social interaction with chosen family or friends

These products aim to reduce anxiety and enhance quality of life, wellbeing, confidence, social contact and engagement for people living with dementia. Seeing the person with dementia as a capable and unique individual benefits their families, and so could reduce the costs of care.

Besides developing these exciting design products, MinD produced a mindful co-design methodology and guidelines, alongside three co-design toolkits to encourage people living with dementia to get involved with research and development.

The insights of the project are available as a set of recommendations to help improve design practice, education and policy. This project received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement.

Research outputs

• MiND project website

• Niedderer, K, Holthoff-Detto, V, van Rompay, TJL, Karahanoğlu, A, Ludden, GDS, Almeida, R, Losada Durán, R, Bueno Aguado, Y, Lim, JNW, Smith, T, Harrison, D, Craven, MP, Gosling, J, Orton, L and Tournier, I (2022) This is Me: Evaluation of a board game to promote social engagement, wellbeing and agency in people with dementia through mindful life-storytelling Journal of Aging Studies,60

• Lim, JNW, Niedderer, K, Tournier, I et al (2021) Assessing the generalisability of a multicentre qualitative dementia research: the experience and challenges faced by the MinD project in Europe Open Research Europe, 1(64) 

• Fels, D, Blackler, A and Niedderer, K (2021) Does bouncy equal happy? Comparing user’s interpretations of emotions conveyed by one designed moving object based on the soma-semiotic framework Applied Ergonomics, 96

• Niedderer, K, Harrison, D, Gosling, J, Craven, M, Blackler, A, Losada, R and Cid, T (2020) Working with Experts with Experience: Charting co-production and co-design in the development of HCI-based design in Kenning, G and Braenkert, R (eds) HCI and Design in the Context of Dementia, Springer, pp303-320

• Niedderer, K, Woelfel, C, Ludden, GDS and Cain, R (eds) (2019) Designing with and for People with Dementia: Wellbeing, Empowerment and Happiness Proceedings of the International MinD Conference, Dresden: MinD and TUD press

• Ludden, GDS, van Rompay, TJL, Niedderer, K, and Tournier, I (2019). Environmental design for dementia care – towards more meaningful experiences through design, Maturitas, 128(10-16)

• Niedderer, K, Tournier, I, Colesten-Shields, D, Craven, M, Gosling, J, Garde, JA, Bosse, M, Salter, B and Griffioen, I (2019) Designing with and for People with Dementia: Developing a Mindful Interdisciplinary Co-Design Methodology In Muratovski, G and Vogel, C (eds) Re:Research. Volume 4: Design and Living Well, Bristol, UK: Intellect, pp147-168

• Garde, JA, Voort, MCvd and Niedderer, K (2018) Design Probes for people with dementia Proceedings of DRS 2018 International Conference: Catalyst, 6, pp2607-2621

• Almeida, R, Niedderer, K, et al (October 2017) Design for the “here and now”: New co-creation approaches for innovation in health and care, involving older adults with cognitive impairment Active and Assisted Living (AAL) Forum 2017 Coimbra, Portugal

• Tournier, I and Ferring, D July (2017) How the mindfulness concept could benefit the caregiving of older adults? International Association of Gerontology and Geriatrics (IAGG) congress, San Francisco

• Tournier, I, Ferring, D, Almeida, R, Blackler T, Casaldaliga, P, Cid, BT, Colesten-Shields, D, Craven, M, Dening, T, Escobar, G, Griffioen, I, Gove, D, Holthoff-Detto V, Lebis, E, Ludden, G, Notenboom, E, Poppovich, V, Wölfel, C, Zanazi, M and Niedderer, K (November 2016) The MinD European project: The development of a mindful design to improve self-empowerment and social engagement in people with dementia, 26th Alzheimer Europe Conference: Excellence in dementia research and care, Copenhagen