Personas

Name: Cornelia
Age: 83
Residence: Care home in Delft
Diagnosis: Early-stage dementia
Biography:
Cornelia has mid-stage dementia. She lives in an overcrowded care home in Delft. She does not need constant care. She is a very stubborn person, and does not want to be taken care of constantly. She is not a very social person, she used to read a lot before her diagnosis. She is surprisingly active, and likes going on walks. She also has a passion for classical music. She strongly dislikes group activities, as the loud noises of people scare her. The one thing she dislikes more than group activities is doctor/nurse visits. This stems from her introversion and stubbornness: why should this doctor know better, she believes. 

Cornelia used to work as an accountant for a small firm. Her husband worked at the same firm. After he passed away at a young age, she retired early at 58. She spent most of her early retirement reading, walking her dog, listening to music, and going to orchestra concerts with her only son. who was not always available. She started showing signs of dementia at age 76, and at age 81 she was moved to the care home. She only has some experience experience with technology. She has used computers, devices, and a basic smartphone. She does not necessarily distrust technology. She does however have some issues reading small text and speaking. 

Scenario:
Cornelia loves alone time and pets, so when Stefan, the activity coordinator, suggested going on a walk with a robot dog, she was very excited. Stefan gave her a shorter walk to start off with. When Cornelia saw the robot for the first time, she was a bit taken aback. However, when she got close, the robot started wagging its tail and slowly driving towards her. As the robot was quite small, Cornelia couldn't reach it. Stefan picked it up, and asked Cornelia if she wanted to pet it. Cornelia of course took this opportunity. After petting and getting familiar with the robot, Cornelia started her walk. Stefan told her to walk towards her room with the robot, as he entered that path into the system. Cornelia found the walk pleasant, the experience felt very familiar. When Cornelia took a wrong turn however, the robot started barking. Cornelia did notice this, but kept going. The robot then made a sad howling sound, to which Cornelia reacted. She went back towards the bot, and the bot showed excitement by wagging its tail and moving around. They continued on the path towards Cornelia's room.

Name: Constantijn
Age: 77
Residence: Care home in Deventer
Diagnosis: Early- to mid-stage dementia
Biography:
Constantijn has early- to mid-stage dementia. He used to be a stage magician, and is a very social person. He loves being the center of attention, but his care home is understaffed, so during group activities he cannot always get the attention he needs. He spends most of his time in the communal living room, but he finds it hard to talk about his hobbies with the other residents, as they're not always responsive. The activity he enjoys the most is the monthly talent show, he is always busy preparing his next magic trick. He has tried out some of the solo activities the home has to offer, like the library and solitaire, but he doesn't enjoy them as much. He does not have much experience with technology. He has used radios and televisions, but not to an extend to which he is super familiar with them. He also video calls with family sometimes, which is set up by his care home. Constantijn had a a cat in the past, he is not a big fan of dogs. 

Scenario:
Constantijn was skeptical about the robot. He generally doesn't enjoy solo activities, and this robot was clearly not a person. He also didn't have any emotional connection to dogs to draw him in. He reluctantly decided to still go through with the activity, because he is willing to try out new things. His activity coordinator decided to have him walk in a circle, from the first living room to the second, to the third, and back to this one. At first, Constantijn just followed the dog. This was not a super enjoyable experience for him. The emotional cues, like wagging the tail or acting sad or excited, did not affect him much. However, in the hallways, he met one of his friends. They chatted for a while, and Constantijn explained his next magic trick. Constantijn was able to say hi to people he did not see often, and often stopped to have a quick chat. 

Name: Marcus
Age: 83
Residence: Own home in Haarlem
Diagnosis: Early-stage dementia
Biography:
Marcus is 83 and has early-stage dementia, he lives in his home in Haarlem. Twice per week, a nurse comes visit. He and his family do not have the money for a full-time care home, and do not have the time to take care of him themselves. When the nurse or his family isn't there, he gets quite lonely. He used to like going to the museum and other places with his wife, but he is no longer able to do those activities as he is scared of having an accident. He has lasting injuries from his past occupation as construction worker, so he has difficulties with physical activity. He can't walk for longer periods of time without a walker. Like many people his age, he has a strong dislike of technology. Whenever he does use technology, he has issues with pressing buttons, as his fingers are not very precise. 

Scenario:
...

Name: Stefan
Age: 34
Occupation: Activity Coordinator at a care home in Delft
Biography:
Stefan is an activity coordinator at a care home in Delft. He organizes both group and individual activities. He is the only activity coordinator in the house, so he is always very busy. He is however very happy with his job, as he gets a lot of enjoyment out of helping others. During group activities he finds it hard to split his attention, as some people require more assistance than others. He has similar issues with individual activities. Activities that require a lot of attention are simply not possible, as he is the only coordinator at the house. He can provide activities that require some setup time, but don't require much attention afterwards. He is committed to setting up individual activities alongside group activities, as some of the residents, like Cornelia, don't feel comfortable in the group setting.

Scenario:
Stefan has set up the robot dog for several people now. He knows the residents quite well, so he's able to think about what they need. For some residents he sets up longer paths, for some just a short one. He occasionally walks the dog with residents in a wheelchair, though this is more time consuming than just setting things up. He can also set the path up based on where the resident needs to go. For some residents in later stages of dementia, setting up the same, familiar, path every time is beneficial, so that they don't get as disoriented. Some residents enjoy the guided exploration, or like going through areas with a lot of other residents, so that they can stop to say hi and show off the dog. 

Notes to add?:

• Wheelchair?
• Immigrants, different pet culture
• Scenarios (before and after technology)