In the nursing home SeneCura SeniorCentrum Klamovka we support individuals with average age of 89 years old. Even at this age we can see many clients who are interest in ICT technologies. We had been working very closely with Život+, our partner in the ICT4Elders project, to prepare and complete all analytical activities, which took place during the first intellectual output of the project.
We presented the ICT4Elders project to all clients and all questions were answered. The clients were eager to find out more about ICT technologies and learn new things. We were surprised with how many clients were interested and curious.
The ICT4Elders project was also introduced to the employees of SeneCura and Život+ during a meeting. We offered them the opportunity to join the project by filling up a questionnaire. Overall 20 copies of questionnaire were distributed to nurses, social workers, activity workers, caregivers and physiotherapists. The questionnaires for family members were distributed to them with support of activity workers. The aim of survey was to get deeper insight on issues that older adults face in using digital technologies. We wanted to find out what the needs of older adults are and what type of knowledge and skills are necessary to develop. The survey supplemented the information received during the interviews that were performed with the participation of older adults. We interviewed 16 participants about their experiences and the needs they have when using digital technologies.
The next part of the project was a social experiment with elderly, when elderly were asked to recognize if news articles presented were real or not. We discussed the articles with 12 of our clients, divided into two groups. A very important point was how they deal with the verification of information. The elders were very open minded and happy to share with us their opinions on digital technologies. In both groups, all our clients were eager to learn more about ICT technologies, and wanted to find out more on how to use the Internet, browsers, and other platforms like Skype or Facebook. In addition, they wanted to learn how to remove online advertisements, which can be quite confusing for them.
Authors:
Simona Matějková, APSS ČR
Petra Pipková, SeneCura SeniorCentrum Klamovka
Zdeněk Vyhnis, Život+