mobile image

Technology Enhanced Health and Social Care for Vulnerable People During the COVID-19 Outbreak

SDGs Impacted

The COVID-19 pandemic has spread rapidly worldwide with critical consequences in health, as well as in social, economic, and particularly in psychological conditions of vulnerable people, especially older adults. Therefore, it is necessary the direct attention to their health care needs and related interventions. ICT have direct impact on older adults’ health and quality of life leading to decreased depression and loneliness, along with empowerment of independent life. Many studies involve cognitive training programs/software based on new technological systems that provide to vulnerable people access to gamified, attractive, cognitive exercises for overall functionality everywhere and at any time. In this case, Twenty-four participants (mean age 69.3 years) were assigned to this study. The cognitive training component of the Long Lasting Memory (LLM) Care was used as an interactive software to enhance participants’ cognitive functions. The intervention lasted 12 weeks with the frequency of 2–4 times per week in sessions of at least 30 min. Participants used their personal devices (tablets/laptops) in their own residence, while technical and consulting guidance was provided by LLM Care certified trainers.

Impact / Outcome
According to the results, the participants with improved well-being tended to report decreased subjective distress caused by COVID-19, and their engagement with new technologies can potentially minimize the negative outcomes occurred by the current stressful situation, mitigating the effect of hyperarousal symptoms, while increasing their overall well-being. Well-being seems to remain relatively stable among older adults and decreases only when adversities occur, while the usability of the software was perceived as marginally acceptable by participants. The exploitation of the LLM Care contributes to the improvement of older adults’ well-being and alleviates the negative experience caused by stressful situations like COVID-19.
Funding sources
Private
Key Metrics
Improve cognitive training intervention on the well-being of older adults through interactive web-based software
Sector
Health
Intervention lever
Policy
Operating model
Fully private
Target population
Elderly
Year published
01 January 2021

The EDISON Alliance

A World Economic Forum Initiative