Projekt: BoConnect

Providing social care to the growing population of elderly people poses one of the major societal challenges for the coming decades. It is generally acknowledged that assistive technologies, such as a smart home equipped with sensors that detect when the elderly fall or a telecare service for the elderly to interact with a caregiver, can enhance the independence of the elderly, reduce costs for care, and generate economic growth. But, despite vast research efforts, the adoption of these technologies has not taken off. Most studies are small-scale technology-driven pilots that lack attention for a reliable arrangement for the people involved, including elderly, hospitals, municipalities and technology providers.

The BoConnect project aims to break through barriers of widespread adoption of assistive technologies for elderly people. The project takes a holistic perspective and put user needs and reliability of the assistive technologies in focus, both from a technological and organizational perspective. The BoConnect project consists of three studies and the eHealth Institute is responsible for Study 3 - Needs analysis.

The aim of Study 3 - Needs analysis is to identify needs, both of the elderly and of other involved stakeholders, which can be addressed by assistive digital solutions.

The study is qualitative with multidisciplinary approach and consists of:

1. Literature study - To gain an oversight of current knowledge in the field a systematic literature study will be conducted.

2. Design Cases - Based on results from the literature study, collaboration with County council and Municipalities and the overall scope of the BoConnect project, two cases will be described and constitute the scope for this study.

3. Process mapping - With the older individual returning home after hospitalisation in focus, each case will be described through process mapping. Data needed for this step will be gathered via interviews and document analysis.

4. Focus groups - To confirm findings and more deeply describe needs of stakeholders, focus groups will be held. One focus group will be targeting technical aspect and hence include technical experts.

5. Analysis – Gathered data will be analysed using the Need chain model or equivalent.

The project is funded by the Kamprad Family Foundation and coordinated by Danny Weyns. It is a collaboration between the eHealth Institute and the Departments of Media Technology and Health and Caring Sciences at Linnaeus University, Växjö kommun, Landstinget Kronoberg, Sigma IT and Wexnet.