Need-responsive telecare for older adults through user-centric development
P. Karhinen, P. Sanerma, T. Mikkola, J. Koistinen, M. Komulainen, S. Saikko. Gerontechnology 25(s)
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AbstractPURPOSE: Telecare as a way of home care provided via video connection have rapidly become a critical part of home-based support for older people in Finland [1]. Telecare is increasingly replacing or supplementing traditional in-person home visits, allowing for remote health monitoring, medication guidance, and social support [2]. This presentation analyzes how engaging older adults, nursing staff, and management in the service design process leads to telecare services that are more accessible, usable, and responsive to users' everyday needs and support their way of good life. The underlying hypothesis of the presentation is that user-centered development results in telecare models that older adults find more usable and relevant, thereby guiding future service planning. Presentation is based on the work that has been done in In the European Union co-funded project "Versatile telecare of the future", where service competence and future possibilities are being developed for services that promote older adults living at home. The aim of the project is to develop, for example, new types of telecare services for older adults and create support for the nurses and management to enhance telecare services. The purpose is to guide the planning of the next stages of the development work for telecare services for older people. METHOD: The project employed a user-centered development methodology, beginning with foresight workshops using the “future recollection" method to identify key needs and development themes. Participants of the presented part of the development project include older adults (14), nursing staff (6), and administration (4) from two well-being service counties. Inductive content analysis was applied to the workshop data, and themes were prioritized by their prevalence. The most significant themes were further developed and tested in iterative "developer club" workshops, a co-development platform enabling ongoing input from older adults and staff throughout the process. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Collaborative work resulted in a shared vision for the future of telecare, highlighting essential development areas: addressing loneliness through remote group activities, promoting multidisciplinary collaboration, enhancing employees' competence and training in telecare, refining care practices, developing hybrid in-person/remote service models, considering resource perspectives, and improving telecare devices and connectivity. Additional focus areas included integrating technology to support daily life and care for older adults and leveraging emerging technologies to enable new activities. This multistakeholder, iterative approach continues to guide the development of digital tools supporting both telecare service content and the ongoing competence development of nurses involved in telecare provision.Keywords: telecare, foresight, co-development, future-oriented work
P. Karhinen, P. Sanerma, T. Mikkola, J. Koistinen, M. Komulainen, S. Saikko. Gerontechnology 25(s) (2026). Need-responsive telecare for older adults through user-centric development. Gerontechnology, 25(2), 1-10
https://doi.org/10.4017/gt.2026.25.2.1473.3