Eric Schlangen

MSc. Health Sciences

Project leader TCares for Pantein

Goal: understanding more fully the needs of telecare users

Needs in telecare in NLFrom a user's perspective

Hospital Pantein

996 employees, 60 medical specialists

Home care Pantein

2200 employees

Care centers Pantein

1422 employees, 5 nursing homes & 7 care homes

Pantein Housing association

1600 homes, merging with Mooiland HA, 26.000 homes

Who is Pantein?

Studies have shown:

Problems with smart home technology can be partially ascribed to differences in perceptions of the stakeholders involved.

Designers: functionality of the technology, achieving effective goals

Caregivers: workload and quality of care

Care receivers: usability effects

Why interested in user's perspective?

Passive alarm used in many Dutch smart homes not as effective as expected:

On basis of negative user experiences removed or disabled.

Designers: with only one simple switch turn house on/off

Care receivers: expected safety and security but experienced insecurity and unreliability due to false alarms (forgot to switch)

Caregivers: expected safety but experienced increasing workload and upset clients

Example: passive alarm

A Dutch care organization installed automatic curtains because they thought it would be convenient and support a good day/night rhythm for people with dementia.

Designers: convenience, time clock

Care receivers: expected nothing (forgot) and experienced confusion (who closed the curtains?)

Caregivers: expected better day/night rythm but experienced confused and upset clients

Example: automatic curtains

Analysis of expected an experienced effects .

Attributes: functionality and design

Consequences: functional and psychological effects

Values: higher order merits, goals

For different stakeholders involved: care receivers, informal and professional caregivers, designers

How to prevent these problems

Research through questionnairesWebbased or laptopEasy to do (even for 75+ elderly with no PC experience)First establishing the needs (no technology is mentioned)Secondly: translating needs into technical solutions in a

group discussion with users

Understanding more fully the needs of users

Questionnaire on laptopTested at home with the elderly:>80% of the elderly (75+) were able to do the questionnaire10% had difficulty using the mouse, even after explanationIn real use about 60% were able to use the tool:Different socio-economic statusTime pressureCare workers give in to elderly, students don't

First fase tool (1)

Appointments were made individually117 people interviewed78% were over 75 years old45% receive homecare at least once a week91% use prescription medicationAll respondents live self supporting73% live as a single person household

First fase tool (2)

Most popular categories:Care 88%Safety 85%Wellbeing 67%Comfort 33%Energy saving 27%

Results

Needs:Alarm when one falls or becomes unwell 87%Carers able to open my door in emergencies 74%Men less so (60%) than woman (79%)Easy in contact with carer/nurse 53%more in homecare users (63%) than in others (44%)Visual contact with nurse or doctor 53%

Results category: Care (1)

Needs:Remote monitoring BP, BS, etc. 39%Finding information on disease/treatment 26%Reminder medication on time 11%

Results category: Care (2)

Needs:Alarm in case of fire 97%Being able to see who is at your door 89%Flooding alarm bathroom/washing machine 65%Breaking and entering alarm 61%Alarm if CO/Methane gas levels dangerous 56%

Results category: Safety (1)

Needs:Automatic lights on to bathroom at night 40%Listening in when stranger at door 34%Check call morning/evening 27%Auto turn off kitchen equipment 27%

Results category: Safety (2)

Needs:Information and news 84%Information neighborhood 73% Wanting to help others 78%Joining meetings of elderly 65%Joining game activity 64%Joining exercise activity 57%Enjoying audio/visual at home 56%Finding new people with same interests 40%

Results category: Wellbeing (1)

Needs:Hiring a reliable handyman 36%Easy connection to elderly counselor 31%Ordering shoppings 28%Ordering meals 23%Easier way to contact children/family 18%Expanding social network 18%Internet/ email without PC use 11%Help with post / banking 11%

Results category: Wellbeing (2)

Needs are being recognizedHard to imagine the benefits of technology, happy campersSafety and quality of life main issue: privacy is secondary to thatElderly not technofobic but skeptical of their abilities to master

new technology

Results match findings in literature:

Afraid to make mistakes, no sense of urgency for technology.

After experiencing technology acceptance is likely to rise.

Next step: group talks

Main developments: Ageing, extramuralization and socialization of care.

Residential care will be mainly care for elderly with cognitive problems, can ICT help them to preserve cognitive and physical functions? Transfer from protection to support.

Supporting elderly at home with tailor made technology, easy to install and remove. And cheap!

Intelligent safety technology that requires no buttons, where user made mistakes have little consequences.

Including social networks in the technology: is mum OK?

Future needs in NL (1)

Teaching caregivers about technology:

patients will get more and better contacts, including you

you will spend your time on useful interventions instead of checking and rechecking

Intuitive design

Splitting off the technology from the service: choice

New generation of elderly is coming: fun, social and information content becomes more important.

Integration of platforms PC, phone, TV, Home Box working with social networks and also outside your own house.

Future needs in NL (2)

Eric Schlangen

HabiPro

– E: eric@habipro.nl – T: +3150254686

Questions?