O1 - Training Needs of Caregivers

We addressed older people in 4 countries, including the UK, with an online questionnaire in order to identify their needs for ICT technologies that would improve their quality of life.

We also wanted to have an overall picture about how open they are to learning new skills that would enable them to join social networks in order to stay connected to family and friends, to be safe and independent at their own home and be active in the community for longer.

The GRandis desktop research and online surveys have unequivocally exposed a need for new technology to help care for older adults at home and a willingness of older adults to engage with that new technology in their care. The existing education and training courses in all countries lack a proper focus on this newer approach, with very little explicit material on the effects of demographic change and how technology can be used to offset them. Carers need to know how to use the technologies and how to train older adults to use them, neither of which are currently covered appropriately in existing courses. GRandis has highlighted the need for new material in these areas and provided a compelling rationale for how it will improve the ability of carers to look after older adults effectively in their own homes.

For further information on the 1st intellectual outcome of the project, read Newsletter 1.