Healthcare, municipality, researchers and residents are all sitting around the same table

The Living Lab More Healthy Years Appingedam works according to the principle of Citizen Science to improve the living environment and thus give an impetus to an improved lifestyle and health for all residents of Appingedam.

Citizen science is a term you hear a lot, but it is relatively new. Project leader Lieke Dalstra believes in it: 'The core of Citizen Science is that you involve the residents and work together to improve the living environment. The word science may feel a bit remote sometimes, but what we do here is very practically applicable.'

In Appingedam, people suffer a lot from the earthquake problem and this interferes with the pleasure of living there. Houses are being strengthened or demolished and rebuilt, but this does not mean that neighbourhoods are automatically restored. Lieke: 'Together with the residents, we look at what they feel is important for their own environment, so it becomes their home again. In this way, we hope to contribute and thus reduce stress.'

We take a broad view

That may sound simple, but it's anything but. Many parties work together within the Living Lab More Healthy Years for Appingedam, such as the Municipality of Eemsdelta, Cadanz Welfare, GGD Groningen, and also pupils and students from the Hanze, Noorderpoort, the University of Groningen, youth work and of course the residents themselves, and that makes it very complex. Lieke: 'At the same time, this is the way to get things done. All partners are committed to the project, they recognize the added value and feel its importance. Healthcare, municipality, researchers and residents all sit around the same table and that is quite unique. That doesn't happen everywhere. And we take a broad view. Because there are so many parties involved, you have to work interprofessionally. We can't do it alone, and we can't stay in our own domain. Residents and all parties around them need each other. Together you develop a working method and in this way you create added value. I believe this is the way to get things done. I see plenty of positive examples of how it works in practice.'

Kenny and Jaline's success story
A good example of how Citizen Science works in practice is the story of Kenny Buitendam. He became involved in the Living Lab More Healthy Years for Appingedam because Jaline de Boer, then still a student at the Hanze, now a (transition-oriented) community worker within Cadanz Welzijn, knocked on his door. Kenny's house had been demolished and he was now living in a new neighbourhood, where he and his family were not really very happy.

Read Kenny and Jaline's story here

Lieke: 'With project leaders like Jaline, we try to establish connections. The way it was done before and sometimes still is, causes stress for the residents. She brought different parties into contact with each other and that made all the difference. We are now trying to do the same for other districts. You always work within a certain context and this can be quite small, such as a neighbourhood or even a street, but you have to be context-specific. That makes it concrete. We are in a continuous dialogue with many parties, and it is an exciting process with the necessary risks. For example, you have to do a lot of expectation management. You can never make firm promises, but you do want people to be and stay involved. We have more and more contact with the residents and we are also getting more and more positive reactions. And people are now starting to propagate it themselves, for example by telling their stories to the Hanze or other organizations. In this way, Citizen Science is becoming more and more widespread.'

Loneliness and loose paving stones

The Living Lab More Healthy Years for Appingedam is not only working on the Reinforcement Task (strengthening existing houses and demolition and reconstruction), but also on improving health and the living environment in the field of well-being and nutrition. Lieke: 'There are a lot of elderly people in Appingedam who are lonely. We started talking to people to see if there are any causes that we can do something about. Then it sometimes turns out that there are very practical matters that are an obstacle for the elderly. For example, an important road was completely overgrown, so people did not dare to use it. And there were paving stones that were loose, so people avoided those streets. These are issues that are relatively easy to tackle and that can still make all the difference.' The broad approach also includes the Positive Health model. This looks at health in a broader context, for example at the relationship to the living environment, the connection with one's own neighbourhood, mental well-being, sports facilities, cycle paths, the range of shops, access to information, etc. In this way, the Living Lab hopes to contribute to a healthy environment where people enjoy living.

More about the Living Lab More Healthy Years for Appingedam (Dutch)

More about Citizen Science (Dutch)