Long-term care users contribute to the development of new services
User centric design can mean different things. Right now there are many EU-funded research and innovation projects that focus on involving the users early in the process through so-called co-creation. A good example of this is the SoCaTel project.
The idea of SoCaTel is to ensure that the public and private healthcare providers offer long-term care based on real user needs through co-creation. This is achieved by letting end users work together with healthcare professionals, researchers and innovators in a common platform. The platform itself is also co-created, bringing together perspectives, ideas and solutions form various stakeholders.
For this type of system to work for everyone, accessibility is key. Funka delivers recommendations, requirements, training, audits and testing of accessibility and usability in the upcoming two years of the project.
Background
With a growing elderly population, more people will be in need for long time care. This care can be provided at home or in different types of nursing homes or other institutions. In order to take advantage of the knowledge, experience and wishes of long term care patients, while empowering these individuals, the project SoCaTel will create a technical platform that can capture new ideas among end users.
The overall objectives of the project are increased accessibility, transparency, efficiency and flexibility in an integrated care model. The results are expected to make it easier for older people who want to stay at home in a well-functioning environment. Cooperation is the key and the process of developing the tool takes place in collaboration with various target groups and stakeholders in pilot sites in Finland, Spain, Hungary and Ireland. In addition, the project arranges hackathons and webinars.
Funding: European Commission Horizon 2020
Consortium: Universitat Rovira i Virgili (Spain) (project lead), Fontys University of Applied Sciences (The Netherlands), University of Tampere (Finland), Gál Ferenc College (Hungary), Trinity College Dublin (Ireland), Blau Advisors Strategic Partners (Spain), Cyprus Research and Innovation Center (Cyprus), Ayuntamiento de Vilanova i la Geltru (Spain), City of Tampere (Finland), Health Service Executive (Ireland), Ozwillo Association (France), Everis (Spain) and Funka.
Period: December 2017 - December 2020
Budget: 3,8 MEURO