Lonneke Schuurmans

Open University of the Netherlands, Institute of Zoology, Univé (Netherlands)

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About

Lonneke Schuurmans is a leading researcher in the field of animal-assisted interventions (AAI) for elderly care, with a specific focus on improving the quality of life for nursing home residents with dementia. Her work primarily explores how interactions with animals—and increasingly, robotic alternatives—can foster social engagement and emotional well-being in psychogeriatric settings. Schuurmans’ major contributions include a foundational survey on AAI practices in Dutch nursing homes (42 citations), which provided critical baseline data on implementation and outcomes. She has also pioneered comparative studies using video-analysis to dissect the nuanced roles of handlers, animals, and robots during group sessions, revealing the profound impact of the human facilitator—a finding that challenges simplistic views of AAI effectiveness. Her 2019 paper on lessons learned from AAI studies offers invaluable practical and ethical guidance for future researchers, highlighting the unique challenges of conducting such work in dementia care environments. Through her methodical, observational approach, Schuurmans has advanced our understanding of how to design meaningful, ethical, and effective interventions for one of society’s most vulnerable populations.