Zoekresultaten

Unattended autonomous surveillance in community-dwelling older adults: a field study.

Home automation that allows for telecare services is increasingly becoming a tool to help older adults live independently and to improve perceived safety and security. The number of older adults receiving professional care, in relation to housing, on a daily basis is not very large. Only 15% receives home care, 5% lives in a care home, and about 2.5% resides in a nursing home. The majority of older adults live in the community. The Unattended Autonomous Surveillance system by TNO Defense is an integrated system that combines many functionalities for community-dwelling (older) adults, who are entitled to receiving nursing home care based on official assessments. The technology is implemented among people in the towns of Baarn and Soest in the centre of the Netherlands. The UAS system aims to support Ageing-in-Place and delaying the demand for expensive institutional care. Besides the benefits for the care recipient, informal or family carers are supported in care through the technology installed as well. Professional carers, for instance, home care, can benefit from the increased self care capabilities of the care recipient. In cases of emergency, i.e., when alarms are activated, people in the care centre can access the home via a camera. The aim is to study the perceptions of independent living, the role and quality of care received, and how people think technology can support them in their daily lives. This is the first round of interviewing on a total of three rounds. Methods In order to investigate the needs of the users, phenomenological qualitative research is carried out among a group of 30 independently living older adults (some with mild psychogeriatric health problems) and their (family) carers, using semi-structured questionnaires on home care received, demand for care, use and need of assistive technologies and perceived safety and security. The questionnaires were based on earlier work by Bijsterveld1 and Demeris et al.2. The first part of the study, performed between May and September 2007, included 14 subjects. The transcripts were analysed using the MAXQDA program. First, each transcript was read in its entirety. Then, they were read a second time to develop codes that were grouped into themes consistent with the interviews, which emerged from the narratives and the interview guides. To be considered a major theme, the code had to have appeared in more than 25% of the narratives and more than once in each of the narratives. Third, quotes that summarised the essence of each person’s subjective experience were recorded. Finally, a master list of themes from each interview was developed to allow for easy cross-interview examination. Results and discussion Preliminary results showed a positive attitude of older adults towards the system as a means to provide additional telecare and to increase perceived security in their surroundings. The fact that professional carers are immediately available after an emergency call, for instance via video communication, eases their feelings of insecurity. Family carers were more enthusiast about the system than many older adults, because the UAS system that is always present and vigilant takes away a part of the care burden. The over-time contribution of the UAS system to independence is to be studied.

Mediated awareness for intra-family communication

Family caregiver outcomes after participating in a hospital-based family involvement program after major gastrointestinal surgery

Background: Engaging families in postsurgical care is potentially beneficial for improving cancer patient outcomes and quality of care. The authors developed a family involvement program (FIP) and in this study, the authors aim to evaluate the impact of the FIP on family caregiver burden and well-being. Moreover, the authors aim to assess the fidelity of the program. Materials and methods: This is a preplanned subgroup analysis of a patient-preferred prospective cohort study that included family caregivers of patients who underwent major oncological surgery for gastrointestinal tumors. Only patient-nominated family caregivers could participate in the FIP. Caregivers received structured training in fundamental caregiving tasks from healthcare professionals and then actively participated in these tasks. Caregiver burden and well-being were measured four times (at hospital admission, at hospital discharge, and at 1 and 3 months posthospital discharge) using the Caregiver Strain Index+ (CSI+) and the Care-related Quality of Life instrument (CarerQoL-7D). The fidelity of the FIP was assessed by recording completion of care activities. In addition, family caregivers were asked whether they would participate in the FIP again. Results: Most of the 152 family caregivers were female (77.6%), and their mean age was 61.3 years (SD=11.6). Median CSI+ scores ranged between -1 and 0 and remained below the cutoff point of experiencing burden. CarerQoL-7D results indicated no significant differences in family caregivers' well-being over time. Upon discharge, over 75% of the family caregivers stated that they would recommend the FIP to others. The highest compliance with all fundamental care activities was observed during postoperative days 2-4. Conclusion: The family caregivers of oncological surgical patients who participated in the FIP exhibited acceptable levels of caregiver burden and well-being. These findings suggest that the FIP is a valuable intervention to equip family caregivers with the skills to navigate the uncertain period following a patient's hospital discharge.

Google Earth, surveillance, and the power of digital cartography

Pokémon Go, Facebook check-ins, Google Maps, public transport apps and especially smartphone apps are increasingly becoming traceable and locatable. As ‘check-in’, features in social media and games grow in popularity they pinpoint users in relation to everything else in the network, making physical context an essential input for online interactions. But what are the practical consequences of the increased proliferation of devices that can determine our location? Could one say that surveillance is already taken for granted as we passively provide our coordinates to others?

Access to Justice for Communications Surveillance and Interception

By analysing intelligence-gathering reform legislation this article discusses access to justice for communications interception by the intelligence and security services. In the aftermath of the Snowden revelations, sophisticated oversight systems for bulk communications surveillance are being established across the globe. In the Netherlands prior judicial consent and a binding complaint procedure have been established. However, although checks and balances for targeted communications interference have been created, accountability mechanisms are less equipped to effectively remedy indiscriminate interference. Therefore, within the context of mass communications surveillance programs, access to justice for complainants remains a contentious issue.

Family Surveillance: Understanding Parental Monitoring, Reciprocal Practices, and Digital Resilience

Parents who grew up without digital monitoring have a plethora of parental monitoring opportunities at their disposal. While they can engage in surveillance practices to safeguard their children, they also have to balance freedom against control. This research is based on in-depth interviews with eleven early adolescents and eleven parents to investigate everyday negotiations of parental monitoring. Parental monitoring is presented as a form of lateral surveillance because it entails parents engaging in surveillance practices to monitor their children. The results indicate that some parents are motivated to use digital monitoring tools to safeguard and guide their children, while others refrain from surveillance practices to prioritise freedom and trust. The most common forms of surveillance are location tracking and the monitoring of digital behaviour and screen time. Moreover, we provide unique insights into the use of student tracking systems as an impactful form of control. Early adolescents negotiate these parental monitoring practices, with responses ranging from acceptance to active forms of resistance. Some children also monitor their parents, showcasing a reciprocal form of lateral surveillance. In all families, monitoring practices are negotiated in open conversations that also foster digital resilience. This study shows that the concepts of parental monitoring and lateral surveillance fall short in grasping the reciprocal character of monitoring and the power dynamics in parent-child relations. We therefore propose that monitoring practices in families can best be understood as family surveillance, providing a novel concept to understand how surveillance is embedded in contemporary media practices among interconnected family members.