How does welfare technology contribute to safety, activity, participation, and independence within elder care?

Frågeställning There is an expectation in municipal elder care in Sweden that welfare technology will contribute to managing the more complex needs of older people who receive care and nursing in their own homes.

The demands on welfare are constantly increasing as the number of older people in society rises, while both human and monetary resources for care and nursing remain limited.

However, there is a lack of knowledge about different actors´ perspectives on the introduction of welfare technology and how it affects older people’s healthcare at the local level.The aim of the project is to address the knowledge gap that exists on how, and whether, welfare technology contributes to an individual´s security, activity, participation, and independence from four different perspectives: 1) older people, 2) significant others, 3) staff, and 4) decision-makers.Specific research questions are:In which parts of elder care is welfare technology used, and for what purposes?How is the introduction of welfare technology in elder care perceived by different actors?What ideas and expectations are there about welfare technology´s intentions to meet needs in elder care?How is welfare technology used in practice and does it correspond to perceptions on the introduction of welfare technology?Data och metodThe project examines the perceptions and expectations of welfare technology among different actors.

Data will be collected through semi-structured interviews with older people, significant others, staff, and decision-makers in organisations using welfare technology.

The collected data will be processed using thematic analysis to explore explicit and implicit meanings embedded in the data.Relevans och nyttiggörandeThe goal of welfare technology in elder care is often depicted as striving for higher quality and efficiency in care at the societal level.

However, there is a lack of knowledge about how different actors view welfare technology and whether they believe that efforts that have been implemented achieve this.

The transition to local health care is based on more person-centred and health-promoting care, part of which is welfare technology.GenomförandeThe project is carried out over three years, where activities are organised into three different work packages. 1) Project planning and preparation. 2) Data management, data collection and analysis. 3) Dissemination of results.

The costs applied for cover working hours, data management, and participation in conferences.