Text

Effects of implementing modern health and welfare technology in Västerås municipality's elderly care homes

Västerås municipality's health and social care administration has procured and implemented new health and welfare technology (HWT) in 13 of it's care residences. The desired effects of the HWT are increased safety and independence for the residents, as well as improved ability for the personnel to detect and prevent events that require intervention. Mälardalen University's Center for Welfare Change will assist Västerås municipality in following up the effects of the HWT in their facilities

Start

2024-06-01

Planned completion

2025-06-30

Main financing

Project manager at MDU

No partial template found

Description

Västerås municipality's health and social care administration has procured and implemented new health and welfare technology (HWT) in 13 of it's care residences. The technology consists of a sensor-based system that reports the position of the residents inside or in the surrounding outside environment. It also monitors their body position to inform if the person is e.g. lying on the floor, in bed, sitting or walking. Remotely-controlled cameras are included in some interventions to enable visual supervision of the residents without having to physically enter a room that they are in. The desired effects of the HWT are increased safety and independence for the residents, as well as improved ability for the personnel to detect and prevent events that require intervention. Mälardalen University's Center for Welfare Change will assist Västerås municipality in following up the effects of the HWT in their facilities. The research team will compare specific outcomes before and after the implementation of the HWT, including changes in work routines and processes associated with the HWT, to answer three primary questions:

  1. Does HWT increase the physical safety of the residents compared to current routines? Outcomes to be measured: number of times residents unexpectedly found on the floor; time to detection and response to such events; physical injuries arising from such events.
  2. Does HWT change the personnel's physical availability compared with current routines? Outcomes to be measured: percentage of supervisory checks conducted remotely; number of times physical presence or intervention is required, and time to achieving such response.
  3. Does HWT increase residents' independence compared with current routines? Outcomes to be measured: number of times/amount of time that the resident can go to nearby outdoor environments independently, and number of times they deviate from such environments.

Purpose and goal

The project aims to evaluate the effects of implemented HWT in municipal care residences according to a handful of desired and prioritized outcomes.

The goal of the project is to conduct a highly valid, reliable, and repeatable evaluation that provides the municipality with evidence-based grounds on which they can make decisions on the future use of HWT in their residences.

This research relates to the following sustainable development goals