Information and Communication Technologies in Care of Elderly – Addressing Care Assistants’ Experiences, Demands and Visions.

Abstract: In Sweden the need to recruit care assistants is increasing because of a growing older population together with their demands to stay in their own homes as long as possible. Swedish municipalities are responsible for organizing the social care and services for elderly with a coordination of some private provider companies. Moreover, to improve the care work a range of information and communication technologies (ICTs) e.g. safety alarm and electronic health record system are used to support care assistants’ daily activities and communication with elderly. Thus qualitative research aims to explore the care assistants’ use and experiences of existing ICTs. Furthermore, it examines the impact of the ICTs on their daily activities. The thesis pay attention also to care assistants demands, ideas and visions about future ICTs. The research found that care assistants were satisfied with the ICTs, they use today. However, the research also identified some problems related to ICT, which the care assistants are confronted with during their everyday work e.g. alarm buttons loosen and falsely triggered sensors. Care assistants expressed their ideas and visions about the ICT’s degree of involvement in their care activities and elderly’s lives. They had contradictions in their point of views related to the use of monitoring technologies for elder’s care. They also had negative feelings about these technologies. In short, the thesis explored two things; firstly, it reflected ICTs and care assistants’ demands and ideas related to the ICTs. Secondly, the daily activities of care assistants were examined. Therefore this research brings forward care assistants’ activities and makes their work more noticeable in order to be used in the development of new IT systems in the social care work.