Social care and digital technology in municipal home care services for the elderly: a study of the importance of digitalisation for the situation of users, needs assessment and care processes

Research problemWhat does digitalization in municipal homecare for elderly mean for users, needs assessments and care processes?Specific questions1 What does digitalization mean for users’ influence, independence and participation?2 What does digitalization mean for assistance officers’ and unit mangers’ opinions about users’ needs, decisions about and design of services?3 What does digitalization mean for the staff’s work in terms of discretion, interaction with users and responsibility for services?4 How is various views on technology, gender and ethnicity expressed in digitalization of homecare?5 In which ways does the home care’s organizational conditions affect utilization of digital services?Thru a cohesive approach of the complex process from application of service to service delivery, the questions address identified knowledge gaps concerning what digitalization means for 1) homecare service users, 2) staffs’ care strategies, 3) gender and ethnicity in relation to digitalization.Data and method1 Individual interviews with users, about their experiences and opinions on granted digital services. 2 Participatory photo-interviews about staffs’ accounts of the care process.3 Web-survey on staffs’ knowledge and attitudes to digitalization.

The methods are appropriate to answer the questions, since they enable collection and analysis of: 1) interview data about utilization of digitalization and how the services match users’ influence, autonomy, participation; 2) narrative data on digitalal technology in care process in an organizational and professional context; 3) survey data about the staff’s knowledge, experiences and opinions to digitalization.Plan for project realisationA collective case study with mixed methods approach in three municipalities with high level of digitalization.

Interdisciplinary research group who conducts 3 sub-studies: 1) interview study with users, 2) interview study with staff and 3) survey with staff.

Funding mainly concerns salaries for 5 researchers for 3-years.RelevanceSocietal challenges 1) Sweden aims to be best in the world 2025 in using digitalization to provide equal and effective social services, 2) development of elderly care has to match demographical and technical progress. Results can contribute to digitalization that weighs together needs and perspectives of users, staff and management.

Results can help decision-makers prioritize, select digital services and develop strategies for organizing and competence supply.