Telecare Technology for an Ageing Society in Europe
Current State and Future Developments
At a glance
- Project leader : Ursula Meidert
- Project team : Prof. Dr. Heidrun Karin Becker
- Project status : completed
- Funding partner : Public sector (excl. federal government) (TA-SWISS)
- Project partner : TA-Swiss
- Contact person : Ursula Meidert
Description
Background:
Ageing societies in western countries lead to more people with
chronic health conditions and in need of care. Recent developments
in technology have led to more devices supporting elderly people.
They provide health care and enable elderly people to maintain
their autonomy and allow them to live independently for a longer
period of time. These technologies are subsumed under the term
“telecare”. Trials have shown that hospital admissions and
mortality can be re-duced by such devices. Telecare may therefore
unburden the health care system and serve at the patients’ best
interest in allowing them to live for a longer period of time
independently and in-crease
quality of live.
Telecare includes technical devices and assistive technology as
well as professional health care services to assist, monitor and
care for people from a distance. Telecare includes a variety of
services such as communication, monitoring, consultation,
diagnostics and training.
Goals:
The main goal of this study is to give an overview of existing
telecare technologies for the elderly and future developments and
tendencies in this field in Europe. The study results will be used
for a scenario workshop within the PACITA (Parliaments and Civil
Society in Technology Assessment) Project. The project has the goal
to provide insight and experience in technology assessments for
stakeholders from European countries that currently don’t have
parliamentary technology as-sessment institutions.
Methods:
A literature review was conducted on current telecare technologies
and future trends. The search was conducted in five databases:
Ageline, CINAHL, Abstracts in Social Gerontology and Medline. In
accordance with the mandate of the literature review, articles not
concerning Europe or dealing with ethical or societal issues of
telecare were filtered out in a second step. Furthermore, 61
experts from the fields of research, gerontology, engineering and
from technology assessment institutions from the various European
countries were invited to participate in a survey conducted by
e-mail. Experts were asked to give their insight on current
developments and future trends in telecare and provide further
information about regional differences in the use of telecare.
A summary was compiled from the results of the literature review
and the expert interviews.
Results
A vast amount of 635 articles were identified in the literature
review. However, after selecting only articles with a European
focus and a focus on elderly people only 77 articles remained for
review. Another 15 articles recommended by the experts were taken
into account for the review.
17 experts participated in the survey and answered the six
questions in regard of telecare in Europe.
For the current state of telecare a great variety of devices and
health care services delivered over distance through technology
were found. Services included: Monitoring, consultations,
diagnos-tics, prescriptions filling, disease management, support
through communication and interven-tions, such as training of motor
functions or surgeries. Devices belong for the most part to the
following categories: Sensors and monitoring devices, detectors,
alarm systems, communication devices, video or imaging devices,
smart phone apps and specialized medical devices connected with the
internet. More advanced devices often use more than one technology
and have more than one function. Technologies described in the
literature were either made for home use, clinical use or
increasingly also for mobile use.
Experts pointed out that many devices belonging to the first
generation of telecare, such as alarm buttons or sensors, are in
use. However, market penetration varies greatly from country to
coun-try. Newer and more complex devices, which encompass some form
of ICT, are not yet in wide use.
For future trends in telecare demographic, social, political and
technological trends have to be taken into account for predictions
of future developments in the use of telecare. As telecare is
continuously developing, it is difficult to pinpoint specific
products or technologies, which may be wide spread in the future in
Europe. Telecare technology is expected to grow in Europe and
become a part of healthcare delivery. Reasons are a growing
population in retirement age, changing family structures with low
birth rates, more mobility and more women in the profes-sional work
force and therefore less private care givers. At the same time,
there is a lack of care professionals that could step in and
economic pressure on the health care systems of European countries.
These developments on the level of society are currently
stimulating the development of telecare solutions. However,
ethical, legal and provision issues have to be addressed in order
for telecare to further grow in Europe.