User-driven digital and technological solutions
One of the competence areas in Karelia University of Applied Sciences is testing different digital and technological solutions in older people’s daily life and services. In particular, the idea is to develop technological solutions for building an age-friendly society in a region with long distances. Siun sote (North Karelia Joint Municipal Authority for Social and Health Services) makes a good partner for carrying out experiments. Various experiments are needed to make technological solutions more useful in social services and health care in terms of their user friendliness and validity.
The international SENDoc project (NPA) tested the usability of different wearable sensors in older people’s rehabilitation in a practical setting. We also tested the accuracy of the devices and collected health care professionals’ and older people’s experiences of what using them felt like. Watch the video below for some of the highlights of this project.
Age-friendly business & Silver Economy
Karelia UAS has made sustained efforts to develop the Silver Economy thinking and the model of Age-friendly business. The Age knowledge ABC project (2013) developed training for companies on encountering older people in customer service. The project produced a guide titled Age knowledge ABC – age knowledge to North Karelian customer service (Jämsén Arja ed. 2013).
A publication titled Ikäystävällinen yritys – senioriasiakkaat tulevat (‘Age-friendly business – senior customers are coming’, Jämsén, Arja & Kukkonen Tuula 2017) was produced in the context of developing the age-friendly enterprise concept.
The Silver Economy project (2019–2021) provided training to companies in North Karelia on the themes of age-friendliness, customer-centred development and customer service. Attention was also paid to the contents and targeting of marketing, joint marketing, and digital sales and marketing channels. The development of more age-friendly services was supported with service design training and pilots. The outcomes of the project are reported in the publication Yli 50-vuotiaat asiakkaat – opas keski-ikäisten ja sitä vanhempien asiakkaiden parempaan huomioimiseen (‘Customers aged 50+ – a guide to taking middle-aged and older customers into consideration’, Salminen Risto (ed.) 2022).
Contact / Age-friendly business: Principal Lecturer Tuula Kukkonen, +3584675923, [email protected]
Publications
Publications on the themes of technology and digitalisation:
CASE example: Using wearable sensors for remote home rehabilitation (hip arthrosis) SENDoc project
Guidelines on the use of wearable sensor systems in-home rehabilitation combined with remote connections (flowchart and Practice guideline) Alamäki, Nevala, Jalovaara, Barton, Condell, Muñoz Esquivel, Nordström, Kelly, Heaney, Gillespie (2021)
Wearable Technology Supported Home Rehabilitation Services in Rural Areas Alamäki, Nevala, Jalovaara Condell, Muñoz Esquivel, Nordström, Tedesco, Kelly & Heaney (2019)
Publications on the Silver Economy theme:
Ikäystävällinen yritys – senioriasiakkaat tulevat (Jämsén & Kukkonen 2017).
Yli 50-vuotiaat asiakkaat – opas keski-ikäisten ja sitä vanhempien asiakkaiden parempaan huomioimiseen (Salminen Risto (ed.) 2022)