Person-centred technology in a boundless care sector

As darkness falls in Enschede, Gaya Bin Noon has just finished teaching her first student group of the day at the University of Waterloo in Canada. She talks about why she visited Saxion University of Applied Sciences last autumn to find out more about the research being done in the field of health, technology and social work. “To get an idea of the opportunities we have for collaboration,” she says. “Where there is some common ground.” Besides being a PhD student in technology supporting geriatric care, Gaya is also project coordinator for the Network for Aging Research. She hoped that her trip to the Netherlands would help expand her international network of researchers studying aging.

Gaya predominantly sees advantages when it comes to internationalisation. “We have the tendency to be busy thinking up new solutions,” she says. “Sometimes we reinvent the wheel, because we think the challenges we face have never been faced by others. This is why you should broaden your field of vision by looking from other contexts at how problems are being dealt with elsewhere. Internationalisation enables you to look at the various contexts and solutions and anticipate other problems that you may have to face in the future.”

Technology and the human touch

Gaya wants to use this international view to contribute to finding solutions to challenges in healthcare. Challenges that are to a large extent the same in the Netherlands and Canada: an aging population, an increasing number of people with chronic health problems, and this with a relatively small number of care professionals.

Before Gaya came to Saxion she came across a Dutch delegation who were visiting the University of Waterloo in March 2023. This was a delegation of researchers from Saxion and the University of Twente. Gaya looks back: “It was during that original visit that I noticed there was a lot of overlap between my personal project and work being done in the Netherlands. So as well as the broader diplomatic objectives, I saw a real chance to make some international comparisons for my PhD work.”

While talking about her PhD work, Gaya regularly emphasises the importance of technology in healthcare. She is interested in the development of so-called smart homes, home environments that due to smart technology are suitable for care reliant older adults for example. Enabling people to live at home for longer, without the need of constant supervision by care professionals. Although Gaya does have a reservation: “I don’t like saying that technology should be the key solution. Because ultimately, it’s people who are still the most important solution. They are the ones providing the face-to-face interaction that people desire.” According to Gaya, technology is more about the monitoring and support activities: “So care professionals and support staff can spend more time providing the human care. That is so important and greatly appreciated.”

International lessons

What Gaya noticed at Saxion was the great willingness to use technology in dealing with social challenges. This, along with the Dutch social safety net – especially for older adults and families – really impressed her. “It was very interesting to see how, in a broad sense, this in turn affects work in health sciences and social sciences.” She also sees positive developments in Canada, despite its specific challenges that come with being such a large and diverse country. “In recent years Canada has made highly conscious efforts to be more sensitive to the different backgrounds people have, to the needs of people who have emigrated from other countries and to the barriers confronting indigenous groups when it comes to accessing care.”

Paying more attention to the different backgrounds of people needing care: these are experiences which can also benefit researchers and care professionals in the Netherlands. Gaya also has advice for current students who have chosen healthcare. “First and foremost,” she says, “thank you for choosing this path! We certainly need more people. However, the most important advice I would like to give is that students should assume that technology is going to play an ever-increasing role in care provision. Not as their replacement, but rather as a very important tool to support them. So you need to ensure that you are familiar with the latest developments.”

For the time being, Gaya will be throwing herself into her PhD work with the curiosity of a student. In the hope of a better deployment of smart technology in healthcare, specifically for older adults. She ultimately hopes to provide the care sector with concrete guidelines, and to convince care professionals and public bodies of the effectiveness of the guidelines. And her wishes on a personal level? Gaya: “Preferably, I would like to go back to the Netherlands again to further expand my network. I hope that I will be granted that privilege.”

Photography: Thomas Busscherser