In the municipality of Lund, home care recipients have had the opportunity for a year to have digital meetings as a complement to physical meetings.
93-year-old Folke Bohlin sees many advantages.
– It is a useful driving force for me to take care of the meals at roughly the right time, he says.
When the home care receiver’s home rings, there are only two choices on the tablet screen: “Answer” in green or “Reject” in red. Installation and reading tablet are provided by the municipality and participation is voluntary.
In the municipality of Lund, home care makes two million physical visits annually and the goal is that every tenth visit should be able to be replaced with a digital one. The initiative has been appreciated by the staff because it reduces stress and makes care recipients more independent.
– It’s much calmer, I don’t have to run between users and check the clock all the time, says assistant nurse Annica Lundblad.
93-year-old Folke: “Great for me”
But even the elderly seem to primarily see advantages in digital contact. Folke Bohlin is one of 56 pioneers in Lund municipality who have tested the reading tablets for a few months. He previously received three visits a day – but since digital home care was introduced, he thinks that a physical visit in the evening and cleaning once a week is enough. The other meetings take place via the screen.
– It’s nice for me not to experience them looking at the clock and saying: “Now we’ve finished talking”.
Great interest
The investment in digital home care is attracting great interest. So far, over 100 Swedish municipalities have contacted us to take part in Lund’s experiences. Researchers from the School of Social Sciences at Lund University will study and evaluate the operation for a few years.
– So far, it has been appreciated and perceived as easy to use for most people. I think many see it as a complement, says docent Gabriella Scaramuzzino, who interviews users in the research project.
– The disadvantage is that we are at a distance if they need physical help, but then we have the opportunity to call out staff in the home care area, says assistant nurse Annica Lundblad.