How Carer+ Tools Impact Home Care Provision?

Results of the pilot programme implemented in five European countries:

France, Italy, Romania, Latvia and Spain

Telecentre-Europe AISBL (BE)CARER+ Final Conference

27 March 2015Paris

CARER+ Tools

CARER+ TOOLS

Training to improve

digital skills AND work-specific

digital competencies

Equipping carers

and care recipients

WITH ICT

devices

Testing home care

provision with ICTs(based on a

mutual learning of carers and

older people)

ICTs USED

iPad Mini

Google Nexus 7”

iPad Air

NFC tags

1. PILOT SITES

• 5 EU member states• Urban and rural sites• 13 sites

• France (3) Paris, Poitiers, Nice• Italy (3) Bologna and surrounding area• Latvia (2) Riga, Jelgava• Romania (2) Timisoara, Deva• Spain (3) Bilbao and surrounding area

Local staff trainings in pictures

Staff training in Spain

Staff training in Romania

Staff training in Italy

3. HOW WE PILOTED?

• Improving digital skills• Developing work-specific digital competencies

10 month training for carers

Pilot in pictures

4. HOW WE MEASURED IMPACTS?• 192 paid carers + 50

informal caregivers• Care practice, digital

skills, expectations …

• Same carers• Change of digital skills,

impact on home care practice, quality of life of carers and of the older people

• Good practices for care work with ICTs

• Good practices for using ICT by older people in everyday life, health prevention

• With carers and care recipients

• Personal sentiments, successes, difficulties

Pre-Test Survey with

Carers

Post-Test Survey with

Carers

Case studies, good

practicesFocus Groups

1. How effective was the Training Programme for the Carers?

57% of paid carers felt the training moderately useful and up to 40% very/absolutely useful.

11%

27%

57%

5%

1%

How useful do you think the skills and competencies obtained through the training programme will be in your future caring

practice?

Absolutely useful

Very useful

Moderately useful

Slightly useful

Not useful at all

The training programme did improved digital, and care-related digital skills. Learning together with care recipients seemed to be more challenging.

Improvement of technical/digital skills in general

Improvement of some specific digital skills related to my care work

Development of my general professional knowledge about home care

Learning together with care recipients

Networking with other practitioners, building new relationships

93.4%

69.8%

69.8%

58.5%

65.1%

What would you say have been the main benefits of the training programme for you?

2. How caring practice was affected in CARER+ Pilot by the carers’ opinion?

Keep contact with team, develop general and specific skills seemed to be the main benefit for carers in work. Networking with team mates (where carers are self-employed) and contact care recipients also look to get improved.

Keeping contact with care recipients

Managing time/organising tasks

Administration

Keeping in contact with your work team

Keeping in contact with partner institutions

Developing your general professional skills/knowledge

Networking with other professionals/practitioners

Developing your specific knowledge/expertise in home care

Looking for career opportunities

46.2%

34.9%

9.4%

71.7%

17.9%

68.9%

55.7%

66.0%

10.4%

Which aspects of your working practice were affected the most pos-itively by the ICT device you were equipped with in the CARER+ pro-

ject?

In general, carers felt their job more effective and having more control on it.

I feel I can do my job more effectively

I feel more creative in my job

I feel more in control in my job

I feel less isolated in my work

I feel more content with my job

3.9

2.6

3.4

3

3.2

Thinking about how the ICT device you used in CARER+ affected you, how do you think about your job as a carer now?

Mean (From disagree to strongly agree, five-point scale)

Although, two-third of carers found the ICT device moderately useful (less than one-third very useful) in care work, 74% would use it in care practice in the future.

6%

20%

64%

9%

2%

Overall, how useful was the ICT device you were equipped with

in CARER+ in your everyday care practice?

Absolutely usefulVery usefulModerately usefulSlightly usefulNot useful at all

75%

7%

19%

Do you think you would like to use an ICT tool like the one you were given in the Carer+ project in your caring practice in the fu-

ture?

Yes No I don't know

3. How care recipients benefitted in CARER+?

As carers reported, in half of the cases, ICT was easy to use for the care recipients. Other part claimed it was ‘moderately’ easy to learn (some difficulties).

4%

41%

44%

10%

1%

How far was the technology you were provided with easy to use for your care recipient?

Absolutely easy to use

Very easy to use

Moderately easy to use

Slightly hard to use

Not easy to use at all

By the carers, attitudes and digital competencies developed the most with care recipients, as well, some mental and emotional improvement could be sensed. Specific life aspects also changed for the better (as they were relevant).

Physical well-being

Mental and emotional well-being

Independent living

Social relationships

Family relationships

Their autonomy (ability to express and fulfil personal needs)

Sense of security and safety

Attitude to ICTs

Capacity and competence to use ICTs

3.4

4.0

2.6

2.7

2.9

2.8

2.9

4.0

4.0

How far do you think ICT usage in CARER+ affected the quality of life of the care recipients? (Mean on a five-point scale)

What we can learn from case studies?

• Many applications are available (free or for some minimal charge) invented for home care work (do the administration, organise daily work etc.). These applications can be very useful once carers learned to use technology.

• Some carers found applications like that and CARER+ also offering similar solutions (especially free ones).

• Care recipients used applications primarily for leisure time and communication however, some of the applications indirectly impact on their physical and mental status (brain conditions by chess or other games, health information or exercises found on the Internet, applications that help people with Alzheimer to recognise faces etc.).

• To find more and more similar applications can be very functional for the care recipients as well.