Remote Assistance for Home Care Workers: Concept and Technical Implementation at a Glance

Area of Science:

• Gerontology and Health Services Research
• Human-Computer Interaction
• Digital Health Innovation

Background:

• Long-term care sector faces significant challenges due to formal and informal carer shortages.
• Increasing numbers of care-dependent individuals heighten demand for support services.
• Novel support systems are essential for professional care networks to address these demands.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conceptualize and implement a Remote Care Assist (RCA) service.
• To develop a web-application for a Care Expert Center (CXC) and Remote Support (RS) applications.
• To deploy RS applications on HoloLens 2, Android, and iOS smartphones for home care settings.

Main Methods:

• The evidence-based and user-centred innovation process (EUIP) was employed.
• The RCA service was conceptualized and implemented across home care settings in three European countries.
• Iterative development occurred over two phases, involving five iterations.

Main Results:

• The final feature set for the RCA service was determined and implemented after iterative refinement.
• The service integrates a web-application for CXC and mobile applications for remote support.
• The implementation targeted home care service settings.

Conclusions:

• Close collaboration with the target user group was crucial for identifying potential hurdles and requirements.
• Key requirements included a well-designed interaction concept for HoloLens 2.
• Effective organizational embedding of the RCA service was identified as essential for successful adoption.