Umeå University's logo

umu.sePublications
System disruptions
We are currently experiencing disruptions on the search portals due to high traffic. We are working to resolve the issue, you may temporarily encounter an error message.
Change search
ExportLink to record
Permanent link

Direct link
BETA

Project

Project type/Form of grant
Title [sv]
HARVEST: eHälsa och åldrande i rurala miljöer -- vardagsliv, digitala kompetenser och teknologi
Title [en]
HARVEST: eHealth and Ageing in Rural Areas: Transforming Everyday Life, Digital Competences, and Technology
Abstract [sv]
Direkt översättning av den engelska originalversionen nedan:Digital hälso- och socialvård, så kallad eHälsa, är ett framväxande fenomen som beskrivs som ett sätt att hantera samhälleliga utmaningar som den åldrande befolkningen, avfolkningen av rurala miljöer och ökade tillgänglighetskrav. Forskning saknas om de egentliga effekterna och konsekvenserna av eHälsoinsatser, särskilt när det gäller äldre användare på landsbygden.I detta kollaborativa och transnationella projekt kommer vi att utforska dynamiken omkring digital hälso- och socialvård genom att empiriskt och teoretiskt utforska äldre användare (och icke-användare) av digitala hälsotjänster och applikationer, i rurala miljöer.Med sin etnografiska ansats inriktar projektet sig mot att förstå (a) den påverkan som IKT har på äldre människors vardagsliv; (b) vilken roll som (rural) plats spelar för detta; och (c) förhållandet mellan teknik och digital kompetens i relation till äldre människors användning av eHälsotjänster i tre olika länder: Finland, Italien och Sverige.Det överordnade målet är att tillhandahålla relevant kunskap för utformandet av policies, så att eHälsoprojekt som går bortom teknocentriska och deterministiksa ansatser -- för att istället ta hänsyn till faktiska kulturella kontexter -- kan lanseras.
Abstract [en]
Digital health and social care, so-called eHealth, is an emergent phenomenon which is portrayed as a way of managing societal challenges like demographic ageing, relocation from rural areas and increased demands for availability. But yet, there is a lack of research on the real impact and consequences of eHealth, especially in relation to old age users in rural areas. In this collaborative and transnational project, we will explore the changing dynamics of health and social care by empirically and theoretically examining old age users´ use and non-use of virtual health rooms, virtual health and social service centres, digital care applications ? care apps ? and health and social care information online, in rural regions. Using an ethnographic approach, we try to understand (a) the impact of ICTs in the everyday lives of older people; (b) the role of (rural) place; and (c) the relationship between technology and digital competences in relation to older people?s use of eHealth in three different countries: Finland, Italy, Sweden. The final goal is to provide relevant information for policy-makers, to develop eHealth projects that go beyond a technocentric and deterministic approach and consider the real and cultural context of use of digital technologies among elderly.
Publications (1 of 1) Show all publications
Rasi, P., Lindberg, J. & Airola, E. (2021). Older service users’ experiences of learning to use eHealth applications in sparsely populated healthcare settings in Northern Sweden and Finland. Educational gerontology, 47(1), 25-35
Open this publication in new window or tab >>Older service users’ experiences of learning to use eHealth applications in sparsely populated healthcare settings in Northern Sweden and Finland
2021 (English)In: Educational gerontology, ISSN 0360-1277, E-ISSN 1521-0472, Vol. 47, no 1, p. 25-35Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]

This research seeks to better understand how older people living in sparsely populated areas learn and then use eHealth applications in their everyday lives. The study was conducted in northern Sweden and Lapland in northern Finland, the most sparsely populated areas in these countries. The study focused on the use of following eHealth services: a medication-dispensing service, a virtual health room and a self-monitoring system. Research data were collected through semi-structured interviews and observations. The study included 19 participants, aged from 63 to 89 years. The following research questions guided the study: In what ways was the respondents’ learning and use of the eHealth service a social practice? How are such practices affected by cultural identities? The results show that digital self-care technologies can be very user friendly, easy to use, and sometimes, require very little learning effort from older users. However, the results also show that engaging in eHealth and learning how to use digital self-help services requires constant learning of different competences, not just digital but also competences that are medical and administrative. In addition, the use of eHealth required support from the respondents’ children, grandchildren, neighbors, and friends. Therefore, the digital self-care technologies contributed to a broader redistribution of responsibility from individual users and health and social care to informal support networks surrounding the respondents. Finally, the results indicated that respondents’ motives for learning and using the digital services often expressed cultural identities that affected such conceptions.

Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Milton Park: Taylor & Francis, 2021
National Category
Other Social Sciences
Research subject
Social Medicine; digital humanities
Identifiers
urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-177214 (URN)10.1080/03601277.2020.1851861 (DOI)000592040200001 ()2-s2.0-85096579359 (Scopus ID)
Funder
Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2017-02304EU, Horizon 2020, 643850Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2017-00666Forte, Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare, 2013-2056
Available from: 2020-12-02 Created: 2020-12-02 Last updated: 2023-03-24Bibliographically approved
Principal InvestigatorLindgren, Simon
Coordinating organisation
Umeå University
Funder
Period
2018-04-01 - 2021-03-31
National Category
Sociology (excluding Social Work, Social Psychology and Social Anthropology)
Identifiers
DiVA, id: project:552Project, id: 2017-02304_Forte