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Twenty-five years of aging research and innovation in the Living Lab

Nature Aging volume 3, pages 1168–1169 (2023)Cite this article

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Scientific knowledge is highly warranted in long-term care to address changing needs and the demands of the future. Aging researchers aim to have an impact in broader society through their scientific work and to influence evidence-based practice and policy development. ‘Living labs’ are a promising real-life ecosystem for innovation and scientific research. In living labs, researchers aim to study health, wellbeing and living in older people in close interaction with many stakeholders, including older people and their relatives, patient organizations, local, regional and national governments, private companies, care organizations, students and academia1. Originating from user-centered design approaches for developing innovative, technological-based solutions, living labs now come in many forms and constellations2.

The agenda of our Living Lab is set by older persons themselves. An advisory board of approximately 20 older people represents the long-term care organizations. They meet regularly and are strategic partners as they advise on future directions for the research agenda of the Living Lab and reflect on the impact of results. Two board members are also representatives for the national Dutch Council for Older Persons, who advise the Minister of Health, Welfare and Sports. Furthermore, older persons and their relatives are involved in various roles within specific research projects, varying from consulting to decision-makers. Patient and public engagement is of great importance to include outcomes that matter and impact change and acceptance. Our Living Lab approach aligns with the World Health Organization (WHO) Healthy Aging Framework4, as it creates an environment and opportunities that enable older people to be and do what they value throughout their lives using scientific research. Our aim is to maximize the capacity of older people to live meaningful lives, irrespective of their living situations.

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Fig. 1: Twenty-five years of the Living Lab.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Health Services Research, Care and Public Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Medicine and Life Sciences, Maastricht University, Maastricht, the Netherlands

    Hilde Verbeek & Jan Hamers

  2. Living Lab in Ageing and Long-Term Care, Maastricht, the Netherlands

    Hilde Verbeek, Judith Urlings & Jan Hamers

Authors
  1. Hilde Verbeek
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  2. Judith Urlings
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  3. Jan Hamers
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Contributions

H.V., J.U. and J.H. composed the idea for this correspondence; H.V. drafted the manuscript, and J.U. and J.H. critically reviewed and revised the manuscript. H.V. finalized the formatting and submitted the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final version.

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Correspondence to Hilde Verbeek.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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Verbeek, H., Urlings, J. & Hamers, J. Twenty-five years of aging research and innovation in the Living Lab. Nat Aging 3, 1168–1169 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43587-023-00482-2

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