WETAKECARE – A NEW ICT BASED AAL PROGRAM TO PROMOTE THE PERFORMANCE OF ADL IN ELDERLY

Background: In the context of the European Active and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Program (Call 5, 2012), an interactive and multimodal system was developed to promote independent living of elderly people in their... [ view full abstract ]

Background:
In the context of the European Active and Ambient Assisted Living (AAL) Joint Program (Call 5, 2012), an interactive and multimodal system was developed to promote independent living of elderly people in their homes. “WeTakeCare” aims to empower collaborative caring and training between an elderly person and their non-professional caregiver. The target users are people aged 50+, having mild to moderate physical limitations.
Method:
Literature review and dataset analysis, focus group interviews and design methods were used to develop the system. Usefulness and usability of the system was validated in focus group interviews, by usability tests and field tests.
Results:
The main ADLs that need to be trained are: walking, climbing stairs, getting up from sitting position, bathing, dressing, prepare meals, shopping, light and heavy housework.
The system covers: serious games, compensating strategies visualized by videos and photos, information about assistive devices, environment adaptation, health tips, tips for caregivers, calendar and reminder function, social interaction via video and email chat. WeTakeCare is considered interesting, satisfactory and useful for seniors in the first and second validation. Field validation with 20 couples in Spain and Switzerland are starting in December 2015. First results can be given at the COTEC congress.
Conclusion:
WeTakeCare promotes the performance of ADL, independent living and supports family caregivers by transferring knowledge to a population that is hard to reach: the healthy ageing, home dwelling people 50+.
Application to Practice:
OTs can use ICT to support health promotion and reach new target groups.