What technology are organizations in disability care using to support clients and staff? Agnes van der Poel and Ilse Bierhoff looked into it.
Robot Tessa, magic tables, snoozing devices, or smart incontinence equipment: a lot of care technology is used in disability care. But what exactly and the experience with it is not known.
For Vilans' Innovation Impulse 2 program in collaboration with Academy Het Dorp, researchers Agnes van der Poel of Academy Het Dorp and Ilse Bierhoff of Vilans conducted an inventory. What is being used and for what purposes? The first results of Bierhoff and Van der Poel's inventory have been published and can be downloaded on Kennisplein Gehandicaptensector.
Practical applications
During Care & ict 2024, they presented the results of their survey. A total of 69 different organizations were surveyed. That yielded a large number of examples of practical applications in eight different domains. Those domains range from improving day structure to building-related technology that clients can operate themselves.
Day Structure
For promoting good daily structure, "My own plan" is widely used. As are the diverse robots used by many different organizations. But they are not just high-tech solutions, even something as simple as a daylight lamp is a good tool for managing getting up in the morning.
Promoting sleep
Other common applications of healthcare technology focus on stimulating movement or, conversely, promoting sleep. An example of the latter are devices that use images, light and sound to stimulate calm breathing. This helps with falling asleep. "A whole number of organizations have many different technologies to respond to the client's individual care needs," Agnes van der Poel summarized the overview.
On the Shelf
Yet not all purchased technology is actually deployed. Sometimes applications remain on the shelf. But the idea is that the structural deployment of technology can help increase the quality of life of people with disabilities. It makes them more self-reliant and gives them a greater sense of their own direction.
Innovation Route
The experiences collected will in turn benefit the field in the so-called "Innovation Route. There, organizations can find tools to help them implement care technology. Because how should you choose appropriate care innovation'? This Innovation Route offers tips, tools, descriptions and experiences in four stages. The Innovation Route can also be found on Kennisplein Disability Sector.
