Digital homecare twin expectations among Swedish social service professionals – a qualitative study
Background and purpose
Designing care and support interventions that are tailored to the persons’ needs is essential to high-quality care and is increasingly recognised as associated with positive effects on the health and well-being of older adults and caregivers. In line with demographic trends observed in many countries, Sweden is confronted with a double demographic challenge where the proportion of older adults is increasing while the proportion of people of working age is decreasing. This will lead to a significant shortage of personnel within the sector of health and social care services by the year 2030 with the risk of deteriorations in the quality of care. This pressing situation underscores an urgent need for novel and innovative solutions in municipal homecare. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to identify expectations of social service professionals in Sweden concerning a digital homecare twin intended to support person-centeredness and enhance the working environment in homecare. A digital twin serves as a digital representation of assets, processes, and systems, which in the context of homecare includes older adults and their homes, as well as homecare services and personnel. This study constitutes an integral part of a broader research project aimed at the co-development and evaluation of a digital twin for homecare, which is based on Industry 4.0 technology.
Methods
The present study adopted a qualitative design with four focus groups involving thirty participants working in municipal homecare in urban and rural locations. They represented a diverse spectrum of social service roles: homecare workers, planners, IT specialists, and managers across various levels of responsibility. During the two-hour focus group sessions, the participants discussed three topics: valuable aspects of homecare; knowledge needs for effective homecare delivery; and anticipations related to a digital twin. The focus group sessions were recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically.
Findings
The analysis will be completed by the end of 2023 and the preliminary results will be presented at ECSWR 2024.
Conclusions and implications
The present study can contribute to valuable knowledge on how a digital twin can be used in homecare, and the results are expected to support person-centered homecare and increase job satisfaction for homecare workers. The main outcomes and their implications for practice and further research will be presented at ECSWR 2024.
2024.