The 'implementation' and use of smart home technology to lengthen independent living of non-instutionalized elderly have not always been flawless. The purpose of this study is to show that problems with smart home technology can be partially ascribed to differences in perception of the stakeholders involved. The perceptual worlds of caregivers, care receivers, and designers vary due to differences in background and experiences. To decrease the perceptual differences between the stakeholders, we propose an analysis of the expected and experienced effects of smart home technology for each group. For designers the effects will involve effective goals, caregivers are mainly interested in effects on workload and quality of care, while care receivers are influenced by usability effects. Making each stakeholder aware of the experienced and expected effects of the other stakeholders may broaden their perspectives and may lead to more successful implementations of smart home technology, and technology in general.
Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe whether and how groups of nursing home residents respond to the interactive device “the CRDL”. The CRDL can translate touches between people into sounds. It recognises the type of touch and adjusts the produced sound accordingly. Design/methodology/approach This was as an observational explorative study. Responses were coded and analysed using an existing theoretical framework. Findings – The CRDL creates an atmosphere of playfulness and curiosity. It lowers the threshold to touch, provides an incentive to touch and encourages to experiment with different types of touches on arms and hands. The sounds the CRDL produces sometimes trigger memories and provide themes to start and support conversation. Involving a (large) group of nursing home residents to interact with the CRDL is challenging. Research limitations/implications In order to more fully understand the potential of the CRDL, its use should be studied in different group and individual sessions and the effects of tailored content, adjusted to individual preferences and/or stages of cognition should be explored. Finally, the effects of using the CRDL on the general wellbeing of nursing home residents should be studied. Practical implications The CRDL can help caregivers to use touch to make contact with (groups of their) residents. A session should be guided by an experienced caregiver. Some familiarisation and practice with the CRDL are recommended and a quiet environment is advised. Originality/value This paper demonstrates the potential of interactive objects, such as the CRDL, in the nursing home.
To face the challenges of an ageing population, many Western countries nowadays stimulate an ageing in place policy to empower older adults to grow old in their own homes with the highest degree of self‐reliance. However, many community‐living older adults experience limitations in (instrumental) activities of daily living ((I)ADLs), which may result in a need for home‐care services. Unfortunately, home‐care workers often provide support by taking over tasks, as they are used to doing things for older adults rather than with them, which undermines their possibilities to maintain their self‐care capabilities. In contrast, reablement focuses on capabilities and opportunities of older adults, rather than on disease and dependency. Consequently, older adults are stimulated to be as active as possible during daily and physical activities. The 'Stay Active at Home' programme was designed to train home‐care workers to apply reablement in practice. To explore the experiences of home‐care workers with this programme an exploratory study was conducting in the Netherlands, between April and July, 2017. In total, 20 participants were interviewed: nine nurses (including a district nurse), 10 domestic support workers and the manager of the domestic support workers. The semi‐structured interviews focused on the experienced improvements with regard to knowledge, skills, self‐efficacy and social support. Furthermore, the most and least appreciated programme components were identified. The study has shown that home‐care workers perceived the programme as useful to apply reablement. However, they also need more support with mastering particular skills and dealing with challenging situations. Future implementation of the 'Stay Active at Home' programme can potentially benefit from small adaptions. Furthermore, future research is needed to examine whether the programme leads to more (cost‐) effective home care.
Due to societal developments, like the introduction of the ‘civil society’, policy stimulating longer living at home and the separation of housing and care, the housing situation of older citizens is a relevant and pressing issue for housing-, governance- and care organizations. The current situation of living with care already benefits from technological advancement. The wide application of technology especially in care homes brings the emergence of a new source of information that becomes invaluable in order to understand how the smart urban environment affects the health of older people. The goal of this proposal is to develop an approach for designing smart neighborhoods, in order to assist and engage older adults living there. This approach will be applied to a neighborhood in Aalst-Waalre which will be developed into a living lab. The research will involve: (1) Insight into social-spatial factors underlying a smart neighborhood; (2) Identifying governance and organizational context; (3) Identifying needs and preferences of the (future) inhabitant; (4) Matching needs & preferences to potential socio-techno-spatial solutions. A mixed methods approach fusing quantitative and qualitative methods towards understanding the impacts of smart environment will be investigated. After 12 months, employing several concepts of urban computing, such as pattern recognition and predictive modelling , using the focus groups from the different organizations as well as primary end-users, and exploring how physiological data can be embedded in data-driven strategies for the enhancement of active ageing in this neighborhood will result in design solutions and strategies for a more care-friendly neighborhood.
The main objective is to write a scientific paper in a peer-reviewed Open Access journal on the results of our feasibility study on increasing physical activity in home dwelling adults with chronic stroke. We feel this is important as this article aims to close a gap in the existing literature on behavioral interventions in physical therapy practice. Though our main target audience are other researchers, we feel clinical practice and current education on patients with stroke will benefit as well.
Kwetsbare thuiswonende ouderen met een acute zorgvraag worden regelmatig opgenomen in het ziekenhuis. Het voorkómen van een onnodige acute opname is belangrijk. Een acute opname leidt namelijk vaak tot negatieve uitkomsten voor ouderen, zoals het vergroten van kwetsbaarheid, lichamelijke achteruitgang en functieverlies. Uit meerdere gespreksrondes met wijkverpleegkundigen blijkt dat zij het lastig vinden om de medische urgentie van een acute zorgvraag van ouderen goed in te schatten, en zodanig over te dragen naar de huisarts, zodat deze de urgentie begrijpt en oppakt. Ambulancezorgprofessionals geven aan dat zij de medische toestand juist goed in beeld hebben, maar de ondersteuningsbehoefte bij kwetsbare oudere moeilijk in kunnen schatten en niet weten wiens verantwoordelijkheid het is om de ondersteuningsbehoefte aan over te dragen. Beide disciplines kunnen van elkaar leren. Met dit project beogen wij door ontwerpgericht onderzoek kennisuitwisseling tot stand te brengen en nieuwe toepasbare kennis en handvatten te ontwikkelen om de handelingsverlegenheid van wijkverpleegkundigen en ambulancezorgprofessionals bij kwetsbare ouderen te verminderen. Hiermee dragen we bij aan het oplossen van de knelpunten in de acute zorgverlening voor kwetsbare ouderen in de thuissituatie en ondersteunen we maatschappelijke ontwikkelingen gericht op het organiseren van zorg dicht bij de patiënt. De eerste stap van het plan van aanpak is om knelpunten en oorzaken verder in kaart te brengen, met behulp van een PRISMA-analyse van echte ‘vastgelopen’ casuïstiek van kwetsbare ouderen met een acute zorgvraag. Vervolgens worden instrumenten in kaart gebracht via een rapid literatuurreview, aangevuld met via een enquête verkregen gegevens onder professionals in Nederland. Deze informatie wordt verwerkt in een drietal ontwerpsessies, waarbij handvatten voor wijkverpleegkundigen en ambulancezorgprofessionals in co-creatie worden ontwikkeld. Vervolgens worden deze handvatten in een pilot getest op haalbaarheid. Met deze uitkomsten worden handvatten zo nodig aangepast en vervolgens verspreid onder betrokken professionals via diverse kanalen, kennissessies en in het HBO-onderwijs opgenomen.
