Vision and goals

SEFAS (the Centre for Elderly and Nursing Home Medicine) focuses on older adults and people with complex conditions including neurological diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease. We aim to contribute to better health and end-of-life care for older adults living at home or in institutions, by promoting research-based knowledge about age-related diseases, care services, and the living situation for all people involved. 

This will be achieved by researching the competent assessment and treatment of pain and distressing symptoms, good palliative care at the end of life, and by exploring the necessary follow-up for those who want as much time as possible living at home or who want to die at home. Based on this, we contribute to increasing competence and innovation in the municipal health and care services. This overall umbrella is supported and financed by the Norwegian Government, which enables the SEFAS administrating structure and development. 

In parallel with our research efforts, an important aim for us is to recruit young researchers and students into this important field and facilitate their education in collaboration within the connected units of our university hierarchy.  

Last, but not least, SEFAS aims to be a strong knowledge-based voice in the public debate.

Paradigm shift for elderly care

The Norwegian society is ripe for a paradigm shift in elderly care. There has long been a one-sided investment in traditional nursing homes. Research shows that more people want to live at home longer and even die there, if possible. There is also an explicit political goal that more older adults should be able to live safely at home. 

The overarching paradigm of SEFAS is to discover, validate, and translate novel approaches to improve our understanding of good ageing and to support our society in developing high-quality treatment and care. We strive to facilitate healthy and independent ageing for older adults, and to support their informal (relatives) and formal (healthcare professionals) caregivers. To achieve this, we have established a comprehensive interdisciplinary research centre collaborating with a network of excellent national and international partners. 

Current projects and research topics 

Our work investigates innovative methods of symptom assessment, non-pharmacological interventions, service provision and living environments. Our research activities are project based, and our ongoing work concentrate on the following integrated and overlapping research topics:

1. Interdependencies of pain, activities, and distressing symptoms, including oral health, at the end of life in people with dementia (Clinical Studies, Biomarker Mapping)
2. Effect of virtual darkness on behavioural symptoms in people with dementia (Clinical Study)
3. Sensor-based symptom assessment in Parkinson’s disease (Clinical Study)
4. Innovative living environments promoting social and active living for older adults (Qualitative Study)
5. Digital platform development for safe and independent living at home for people with complex conditions (Clinical Study)
6. Social robot to manage behavioural symptoms in people with dementia and intellectual disabilities (Innovation Study).

SEFAS encompasses five main projects with additional subprojects

Decoding Death and Dying in people with Dementia by Digital thanotyping (5-D) is a study funded by the European Research Council (ERC) and the University of Bergen that investigates how sensing technology can be used to recognize symptoms among people with dementia at the end of life. The study takes place in Norwegian nursing homes and utilizes smartwatches and wall-mounted radar sensors. DIPH.DEM is a pilot study for 5-D funded by Helse Vest and takes place at the Red Cross Nursing Home in Bergen. ORAL.DEM is a subproject of the 5-D study funded by Helse Vest that focuses on the oral health of the same study population. 

The Centre for Complex Conditions and Ageing (CC.AGE) is funded by the Trond Mohn Research Foundation and the University of Bergen and aims to support older adults to live safely at home with an engaged mental, physical and social life. The sub-studies of the centre are: ALIVE deals with the development of a digital plug-and-play platform that will aggregate sensor data and self-reports to then suggest appropriate non-pharmacological interventions; Ethics looks into the ethical implications of technologies and artificial intelligence for older adults; Nutrition investigates the how and what of older adults’ eating patterns, sensor-based measuring of hydration and nutrition; Proof of concept deals with the exploration of different technologies and interventions, as well as platform functionalities as single elements. 

DARK.DEM explores whether light without blue wavelengths in the evening and night can alleviate agitation and other neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with dementia. It also explores whether data from smartwatches can supplement assessment of neuropsychiatric symptoms with traditional proxy rating and barriers and facilitators for the implementation of these new methods in dementia care. The trial is funded by the Research Council of Norway and conducted at NKS Olaviken Gerontopsychiatric Hospital and Bergen Municipality. 

ActiveAgeing is a study funded by the G.C. Rieber Foundations, the University of Bergen, and the Research Council of Norway. The study uses technologies that collect data passively (smartwatches, ring), while the participants live their normal daily life. The Helgetun branch investigates the effect of an active life in innovative living environment. The DIGI.PARK branch develops free-living symptom-tracking digital phenotyping methodologies for people with Parkinson’s disease. 

Emotion-intelligent robot system for people with impaired cognition (EI ROBOT) aims to develop a robot system to enhance the well-being of persons with dementia or other intellectual disabilities residing in long-term care institutions through personalized interactions while supporting care professionals. The system will monitor the residents' physiological states in real-time and will deliver tailored non-pharmacological interventions to address individual needs. EI ROBOT is funded by Eureka Eurostars (EU), the Norwegian Research Council and the Netherlands Enterprise Agency.

Photo:

SEFAS, Monica Patrascu

RESEARCH PLAN and STRATEGY

We apply novel technologies to improve treatment, care and service provision to older adults. Sensing technology encompasses active and passive sensors integrated in the person’s environment, and data from these sensors are valuable supplements when evaluating the health of older adults. Several of the projects concern digital phenotyping, that is, the determination of a person’s characteristics by its digital data, such as data from smartwatches, wall mounted sensors, etc. The aim is to develop digital biomarkers for symptoms and treatment response, which will enhance precision in clinical assessments. Moreover, through the development of the ALIVE platform in the CC.AGE project, we aim to not only assess, but also to intervene on symptoms and change the clinical state based on sensor data (e.g. from Garmin, Somnofy, etc.). A prerequisite for successful use of novel technologies is the application of knowledge-based artificial intelligence, which is safeguarded by our engineers.

Our next strategic step is to extend our investigation into how we can organize social, affordable, and sustainable living environments for the increasing group of older adults in our society. We wish to address these long-term needs at the intersection of construction, urban and rural planning, digitalization, and healthcare, to help shape the emerging sector of smart-tech enabled age-friendly environments.