2. Patterns of care strategies of families
1. Active family carer;
2. Inactive family carer;
3. Family carer receiving a care allowance;
4. Family care with shared responsibility;
5. Family employing legal carer;
6. Family employing undocumented non-migrant
carer;
7. Family carer also with earnings on the black market;
8. Family employing undocumented migrant carer â
round the clock service, living in
3. What can they provide?
ï Type 1-7
- physical help, care, nursing, transport,
administration, etc and/or
- mental help but
ï Expect type 8, mental care does not meet the
need of older people
4. Formal care
Mental care is part of help/care
ïŹ Pensionersâ club - for more mobile older people
ïŹ Home help/care â LCT at home
â not enough
ïŹ Residential/nursing home - LCT in residential home
â not enough
---------------
Other services
Meals on wheels: social sector
Home nursing: health sector
5. Suicide in Hungary among older people
Suicide attempts among old and very old people - great
challenge in Hungary
ï Cause may be loneliness, depression, no goal,
decreased social network: Formal or informal carers
know of them
ï No reliable statistical data on suicide attempts
*
Successful suicides per 100,000 inhabitants*
Male Female
ïŹ 60-64 y 51.7 14.9
ïŹ 80-84 y 127.6 27.5
ïŹ 85+ 160.6 28.5
ïŹ Source: KSH 2009b, 24, 26.
6. 1 year Action research in 2011
Hypothesis
ïŹ Loneliness, depression of old care recipients
will end of they are able to learn to use
Skype
ïŹ Better quality of life
8. Methodology
1. Before starting: observation, talk
2. During installation: observation, talk
3. Permanent feedback by carers
4. Intervention if necessary*
5. Involvement of
a. 16-year-old volunteers:
ï regular help
b. social workers (4th month)
ï case studies not knowing the previous physical, mental
health
6. Evaluation: researcher
*E.g. sensitivity of the mouse was reduced, the icons were made
larger (30% bigger 1024x768 instead of the default size)
9. Negative emotions before the
installation of the computers
1. Amazement (that they are getting a
computer)
2. Interest
3. Disclaiming âIâm too old for that, thatâs
for the youngâ
4. A great degree of fear, alarm
10. Positive emotions before the
installation of the computers
1. Impatience
âWhen will I be getting it?â
2. Excitement âWhat will it look like, how will
I use it?â
3. Joy at reduction of the knowledge gap
between generations.
âIâll have one, just like my grandchild.ââŠ.
âIt will be good if I can use it.â
11. Motivation
a. See/talk with family, grandchild:
b. Strong desire to learn despite illness
c. New goal (worth living)
d. Daily occupation
12. Change of social network through
Skype
Phase 1. intention to talk only to family
ï Maintain or strengthen their relationship
Phase 2: want to find a friend, acquaintance
ï Keep old relationships alive
Phase 3: want to find other older people
ï Widen social network
14. Role of young volunteers
By permanent help insured
ïŹ Transfer of their up-to-date technical knowledge
ïŹ technical catching up
ïŹ end prejudice against older people
ïŹ continuous learning
â âWe taught Aunt K. to use the internet. She learnt
to use the mouse, to visit portals, create an
email account.â
15. Prejudice
ïŹ Society
â âIâd like to see what these old people are
going to do with these computers: probably
put a lace doyley on them, and a vase on that
and then look at them.â (younger man)
ïŹ Family
â âThe family didnât believe that it would be
worth giving a sick old person a computer.â
(head of the care centre)
16. Positive change of inter-general
relationship: young volunteers
â We have a lot of other plans (!!) for
her, I would like to continue intensive
voluntary work with Aunt K.â
17. Impact of Skype on daily life of older
people
ïŒ Positive mental change by 4th month!!
ï âUncle A. has opened up like a rose.â (head of the
care centre)
ï âUncle A. seemed to be a well-balanced, confident,
communicative, optimistic person
ï social
work student not knowing that he
received previous mental care
ïŒ No more suicide attempts
ïŒ End of loneliness
ïŒ New goal
ïŒ More colourful daily activity
ïŒ 3-5 hours internet use - positive addiction
18. Skype as catalyst to acquire
internet skills
â He (90 years old) listens to music every
day, reads the news every day online.â
ï He received earlier mental care from the
home help!!
19. Important messages
ï Successful teaching from the most basic level
(switching the computer on and off)
ï Learning Skype very quickly
ï Pace of learning differed, but all reached a similar
level by 4th month
ï Internet: satisfaction of wide variety of desires and
interests
ï Desire for permanent learning
ï Problem: not to use Skype but learn new functions
of internet
20. Social inclusion
ï New customs: e.g. shopping on the net, watching
soap operas online
ï New words (google, facebook, chat, surf, email,
etc.)
ï Old word with new content (virus, mouse, library,
window)
ï Need of helpers to learn, to catch up.
ï Expanding personal network!
ï Strong intergenerational relationship
ï Strong intragenerational relationship
21. Possible uses for public policy?
ïŹ 3 of the 23 districts of the capital are already
interested in the program and considering to
introduce it.
ïŹ New action research under development- 50 new
cases in the poor Hungarian region
â Goal: to explore how to implement the finding
in poorer rural areas among less educated
older people
22. Afterword: opinion of an old person
ïŹ âYou ask what information technology has given me.
It has opened up the way to acquiring knowledge!
The computer has brought great help and constant
curiosity into my home. âŠI am doing research on my
family roots on the internet, tracing all the
complicated paths from 1311 right up to the present.
So far I have been able to put together a few
detailed biographies. I will have something to pass
on to my grandchildren. I conduct a lively
correspondence with my family members and
friends. We exchange photos and videos.â (76-year-
old woman) .â