BSG 2007
ACT were invited to hold a symposium at the British Society of Gerontology 2007 Annual Conference held at Sheffield Hallam University, 6-8th September 2007.
The symposium entitled 'Assistive and telecare technologies: problems, projects and potential' explored several aspects of the role of new telecommunications and assistive technologies in delivering care and support to people with activity and mobility limitations, and in raising their social participation and quality of life.
Four papers were presented. Below are the abstracts of each paper. Please click on the relevant links to view the presentation slides.
Title: The South Yorkshire Advanced Care Technologies Programme: R&D, knowledge transfer and economic regeneration
Authors: Tony Warnes and Mark Hawley (Barnsley Foundation Hospital NHS Trust and School for Health and Related Research, University of Sheffield)
Abstract
This paper will outline the unusual aims, structure and components of the ACT programme, which is part-funded by European Regional Structural Funds. The programme brings together the expertise in research on assistive and telecare technologies (ATT) in Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering at Barnsley Hospital with that in health and social care services and quality of life research at the Sheffield Institute for Studies on Ageing. It is designed to accelerate the rate of knowledge transfer between researchers, industry and care providers, and will be pursued in collaboration with 10 partner companies and organisations. The motivation is to promote ATT applications that increase the well-being and quality of life of older people living in the community and in institutional settings. The project signifies recognition by the EU that from the perspective of public accounts there are positive sides to population ageing, in the stimulation of new products, markets and jobs. The presentation will describe the programme's principal R&D and knowledge-transfer projects and the early impacts of the programme.
Title: The ACTION project: Assisting carers using telematics interventions to meet older people's needs, a Swedish service programme
Authors: Liz Hanson and Lennart Magnusson (ÄldreVäst Sjuhärad Research Centre and Department of Health Sciences, University College of Borås, Sweden)
Abstract
ACTION is a user-friendly technology-based support service for frail older people and their family carers living at home. It consists of a range of multimedia caring programmes that are accessed over Internet via a personal computer with broadband connection. Videophone facilities are also provided which enable users to have visual and oral contact with other families and to practitioners at a dedicated call centre. It began as an EU-funded pan-European R&D project in 1997 and continues both as a research and service development project in seven municipalities across Sweden. The authors will overview the service before focusing on the main lessons that have been learned over its 10 year history. The main benefits the enhanced preparedness of carers for the caring tasks, and the breaking of families' social isolation by promoting informal support contacts with other families. Particular emphasis will be placed on the importance of (a) a user-inclusive design, (b) ongoing support by all key stakeholders and (c) the need to overcome the prevailing scepticism held by practitioners concerning telecare services, that have been exacerbated by the severe cuts in elder community-care budgets in Sweden.
Title: The potential of mobile digital technologies for providing out-of-home services for frail older people
Authors: Peter Cudd (Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering, Barnsley Foundation Hospital NHS Trust) and Mark Hawley
Abstract
The LOCOMOTION project explored the potential of mobile digital technology for enabling frail older people, amongst others, to maintain or increase their out-of-home independent journeys. The technology linked mobile telephone and global positioning system (GPS) technologies to allow a carer to help a frail person if they became confused about where they were, needed help to get somewhere, or had other problems whilst out of the home. Focus groups of stakeholder groups of older people, including technically knowledgeable older people, their carers and community-alarm staff were asked what services were needed and how they should function. . The groups' ‘user-requirements' emphasised simplicity of use, the need for human rather than machine response, and services unanticipated by the researchers. The requirements guided the technology and service designs. Four frail older individuals and two older people and carer-dyads then evaluated the experimental services. The main feature was the ability of a remote carer at a call centre to locate the client, guide them to another place (including their home), and provide reassurance. The evaluators were enthusiastic about the service, and affirmed that it raised their confidence in being outdoors. The presentation will also overview the technical and operational problems in delivering the ‘locating' service.
Title: Telecare: what do older people actually need and want?
Authors: Steven Blackburn (Advanced Care Technologies Programme, University of Sheffield)
Abstract
Since the implementation in March 2006 of the ‘Preventative Technology Grant', there has been a rapid rise in the provision of telecare systems by local authorities in the UK. Until recently, the delivery of telecare has been technology and provider led, with new applications for older people living in the community commonly decided without consultation. Partly in consequence, there is virtually no understanding of what older people think about the role of new technologies in delivering care to them or in raising their quality of life. This paper reports the findings of an experimental project that promoted a user-needs-led approach to telecare delivery. The project involved a 12 month evaluation of a telecare system installed in an older people's sheltered-housing scheme. Prior to the installation, the opinions of 25 residents about how their lives could be improved in terms of health, safety and well-being were gathered. The most common concerns were related to personal and property safety. It was a small step then to develop a telecare system that matched the needs and aspirations of the residents. The presentation will overview the needs-led approach to specifying a telecare scheme, and evaluate the methods used to identify what older people actually want from the technology. Examples of relevant research conducted by the ACT team and others will be presented, including a regional survey of activity and mobility limitations among older people living in the community.