“I’m pretty sure I can smell them already!” A conversation about digital healthcare is briefly interrupted as the smell of frying oil drifts through De Oude Harmoniezaal in Heugem. The door to Snacktaria St. Michel, at the front of the building, is open, and trays of chips and other snacks soon begin to arrive.
The mood is light, even if the topics aren’t. In the past hour, plenty of concerns have come up. From booking hospital appointments online and video-calling nurses to smart devices and sensors taking over tasks from GPs or home care workers, almost everyone present has some experience with digital healthcare – and many are wary of it. Is human interaction disappearing from healthcare altogether? How do artificial intelligence (AI) and big tech companies use our medical data? And then there are the practical issues, an older participant points out: “I’m scared to even scan a QR code because I’m afraid I’ll do something wrong.”
Tonight is all about talking through those fears and concerns, explains Rowan Smeets, researcher at Maastricht University’s Living Lab for Sustainable Care (AWDZ). She leads the project Ik snap je zorg (“I Care About Your Concerns”), a collaboration between UM, citizen participation organisation Burgerkracht Limburg and communications agency Zuiderlicht, launched last year with funding from the Dutch Research Council (NWO). “The aim is to bring research and society into closer contact and connection.”
The subject of healthcare is particularly suited to this, says Smeets. “Everyone needs it at some point, and there are a lot of people who only engage with research when it affects their daily lives. Other than that practical aspect, they’re not so much interested in science – they think it’s too complicated or see universities as ivory towers.”
Emotional subject
The project aims to reach exactly those people. And you can’t do that by organising meetings in university buildings or hospitals, explains Smeets. “You need to go into the community.” That’s why they meet at a snack bar – a neutral place, frequented by professors and binmen alike. “And with pubs, churches and community centres disappearing from neighbourhoods, the chip shop tends to be one of the few places left where neighbours really run into each other. Sure, most of the food isn’t healthy, but health isn’t just about what you eat. It’s also about social contact and connection.”
Chips Talk is the result. Tonight is the second of four editions. “We keep the groups fairly small so everyone gets a chance to speak. It works both ways – it’s very useful for researchers and health workers to understand the challenges people face.”
You never quite know how it’ll go, says Smeets. “There is immense pressure on healthcare. It’s an emotional subject. At our first edition in Kerkrade earlier this year, one participant spoke very sharply at first. I thought, ‘Where is this going?’ But then it became clear the approach works – mutual understanding was reached.”
Nappies
Tonight seems no different. Participants quickly agree that smart devices, like watches that track heart rate or sleep quality, don’t always add value. “There is such a thing as knowing too much”, says one local. “My wife sometimes wakes up feeling well rested, but if the watch says otherwise, she starts worrying.” One of the researchers concurs. “There’s a common saying: ‘If you don’t take your temperature, you don’t have a fever.’ What’s important is how you feel. There are even nappies that measure protein in pee; that’s information you really don’t need, except maybe if you have serious kidney problems. Health workers should feel more comfortable pointing that out.”
The fear of losing the human touch in healthcare sparks more discussion. Vending machines for prescriptions, digital scales or blood pressure monitors that automatically send readings to your GP to remove the need for appointments… “But a computer can’t tell from my face if I’m sad”, says one participant. Another adds, “Some people need genuine contact – a brief chat to get things off their chest.”
It’s a paradox, says one of the researchers. “We actually want to use technology to free up more time for personal contact. This is essential. Staff shortages are already a huge problem, and in forty years, one in three people in the Netherlands will have to work in healthcare.” And it needs to be done with care, stresses another researcher. “We’re not just putting AI everywhere – only after careful consideration, when and where it makes sense.”