Eurocarers
European association working for carers
CAMPUS
Summary
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The CAMPUS project is an ICT initiative (initially funded by an Equal project) for care workers’ social and professional inclusion filling in the gap in providing education and training for migrant care workers in Italy. This training system aims at empowering/raising awareness on issues of long-term care and updating knowledge and skills of migrant care workers (MCWs), family carers and private care workers, in particular migrant care ones. The initiative was funded by the Equal project ASPASIA (Elderly home care: integrated system of services for people and firms), running between 2004 and 2008, with a contribution from several local authorities (such as Ferrara and Carpi). Nowadays CAMPUS training courses are active in several Italian regions and municipalities, as the package of contents is still available on the platform (http://campus.anzianienonsolo.it/). CAMPUS targets at four different groups: migrant care workers (MCWs), Italian women who aspire to work as private paid carers, formal care, temporary work agencies, as the initiative eases the matching between regular and trained care workers’ supply and demand and, lastly, family carers. Users are not asked any particular skill to use the service but, if necessary, there is a project operator showing how to use it. |
Description
refers to the target users, kind of service provided, ICTs typologies and devices used
The aim of the initiative is to provide skilled training to caregivers of older people (the so called “badanti”) using ICT (i.e. the platform CAMPUS), promoting the use of ICT solutions also among carers with low computer skills. The specific objective of the initiative is to offer vocational skills to participants of the course.
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The initiative was set up thanks to the support and funding from the Equal project ASPASIA (Elderly home care: integrated system of services for people and firms), running between 2004 and 2008. Partners of that PIC Equal were: the social cooperative Anziani e Non Solo (project coordinator), the Association Infojob, Anci Services, the Association Aequinet, the Consortium Madre Teresa di Calcutta, the Consortium Quarantacinque. The project was also supported by a network of the municipalities in which the initiative takes place and of local structures of two cooperatives (League of Cooperatives and Confcooperative). After the conclusion of the project period, the developed training courses model has been implemented in other local editions, addressing both care workers (including migrant care workers) and family carers. Today these courses are active in several Italian regions and municipalities and CAMPUS methodology is now fully operational and carried out by the former EQUAL project coordinator, the social cooperative Anziani e Non Solo. The main social and economic driver was the lack of a long term care system in Italy which leaded to hiring migrant care workers, such as persons coming from other countries working as carers of older people, supporting family carers, with a in-living solution very often. They often have very little or lack of qualification and of knowledge for caring a dependent health-impaired person. Furthermore, they are employed directly by families on irregular basis (and/or often they do not have a regular permission for living in Italy) receiving low salaries and co-habiting with the care recipient. This situation reduces the social interactions of migrant care workers, but also the level of provided care to elders and their health. In this context, the main rationale for setting up the initiative was to use ICT to develop innovative and low cost methods to train carers, which could be easily transferred to other areas. |
Care Recipients
Informal carers
Paid assistants
Formal carers
Not available
Independent Living
Information and learning for carers
Personal Support and Social Integration for carer
Care coordination
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The service provides tailored, user friendly and flexible e-learning trainings, taking into account that MCW have little free time and money for educational courses. Training courses are provided in two ways: 1) e-learning activities (through the so-called CAMPUS platform; self-education, distance learning); 2) both e-learning activities and in-presence education: people can participate online and/or in locally organized classroom courses. |
Trainings are also available on DVD (with a portable DVD player borrowed on request), to facilitate those participants who do not have an Internet access at home, they are made of didactic units and learning modules and cover different topics.
The same contents are covered in different ways according to the characteristics of the target: professional carers or migrant care workers.
Some of the covered topics for migrant care workers concern (all information at http://campus.anzianienonsolo.it/):
- Understand the role and orientate in the social and professional context
- Know the main pathologies ageing related
- Care an old person affected by Alzheimer
- The personal higiene of the elderly
- Duties and rights of informal/formal carers
- Manage the emergency
- Move an impaired person
For professional carers some of the topics are:
- Ageing society
- Community welfare
- The “badanti” phenomenon
- The network of services
- The private care work
Generally, training courses last three months for a total of 138 hours of which 86 in e-learning (by DVD or CAMPUS platform) and 52 in classes and they can have a different number of users.
Moreover, specific service for matching demand and supply of caring job is available on the platform.
The e-learning platform CAMPUS is based on Moodle technology. The course for MCWs is accessible either via the e-learning platform and DVDs, for those not having a pc and an Internet connection. The course for family informal carers is developed using Wordpress technology which does not track users’ activities as Moodle does (as it is not meant for professional training), but it has advantages in terms of graphics, ease of use and manageability.
Operational Information
refers to the type of funding, budget, sustainability and organisations involved
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Public service funding: local authorities ( municipalities of Ferrara and Carpi).
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Public research funding: European funds for research, development and implementation of innovative initiatives (during the initial stage)
€ 140.00 for family caregivers (free for Migrant Care Workers).
Courses were funded with resources from the EU and other local authorities (municipalities, inter-professional funds, etc.). Private funding is provided by some users i.e. family carers using Wordpress, who pay a participation fee of € 140.00 (VAT included) and registration grants access to course contents (online) for 180 days (6 months). Conversely, courses for migrant care workers are free-of-charge (e-learning + classes), thank to the contribution of municipalities.
The maintenance of the platform costs around 5,000 €/year. It is difficult estimate the cost of each course, as it depends on the amount of hours of teaching, contents and methodology. Nevertheless, the cost of a basic course is estimated around 10,000€ by the provider (Boccaletti, 2014).
The economic sustainability appears guaranteed and, also after the end of the PIC Equal, CAMPUS kept providing its activities, thanks to the interest and funding from several local stakeholders (and other sources, as the inter-professional funds) wishing to implement this initiative and use the platform CAMPUS.
Nevertheless, the future of the demand for such services is likely to be influenced by the ongoing financial crisis, which is affecting many Italian women who are now unemployed and willing to work as carers (or, free from work-related duties, are taking back their family care responsibilities). It is not yet possible to predict how the competition between local and migrant workforces will change the characteristics of the care market (Boccaletti, 2010 and telephone updating).
Not available
Authorities
Private Care Sector
Health and Social Care Systems
Third Sector
Private Companies
Not available
Informal Carers
Health Professionals
Social Care Professionals
Privately-Hired Care Assistants (inc. Migrant Care Workers)
Volunteers
People involved in running the initiative are the whole Anziani e Non Solo staff, made of 10 professionals in welfare, caregiving issues, training, e-learning and new technologies, and a group of ICT and communication experts that developed the CAMPUS platform as well as e-learning courses.
Not involved
According to last available data (2011) CAMPUS training activities reached more than 1,350 carers in Italy (both by self-learning and integrated with classes), who benefited of improved ICT and PC abilities, useful professional and language skills for care duties and their social integration.
The service is promoted through brochure and website. Furthermore, the MCW are recruited through the Temporary Employment Agencies present on the territory that use Aspasia/Campus Courses as didactic support (Boccaletti et al., 2010).
Evaluation
refers to the impact of the service on end-users, care organisations and authorities
This service may positively affect the quality of life of:
- Paid assistants, as they can attend courses from home. Moreover trained MCW have more job opportunities and a better social life.
- Elderly people because they benefit from the enhanced skills of CAMPUS users (i.e. the migrant care workers).
Another benefit is the improved MCW’s and informal carers’ ICT acceptability (Boccaletti, 2010).
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The service may positively impact on: - Private care providers, as the service improves the match of demand and supply of job in the field of care (Boccaletti, 2010). |
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The service may positively impact on authorities, NHS and social care services as it improves the quality of care reducing the need of hospitalizations and home caring. In addition the service is effective in training migrant care workers so to optimise financial and human resources (Boccaletti, 2010). |
Strengths:
- The service provides training courses not requiring any reconciliation of work tasks and times, as the carers can study the contents through DVD and learning at distance without ask leaves from work. The MCW in particular are used to cohabit with the old person and work “night and day”: for them is very important to be able to attend the courses from home.
- The characteristics of the single courses (duration, participants) vary according to the different local contexts.
- The service provides courses and learning supports (DVDs) in different languages.
- Assessment of users ‘learned skills” is carried out after the end of the training.
- Participation in the care network is enhanced.
- Involvement of local authorities: in the local contexts in which the initiative has been firstly developed stakeholders were strongly involved and encouraged the ICT use in the elderly care sector. Partnerships with employment agencies and formal care staff supported the matching between carers’ supply and demand, contributing to regularize illegal work in this sector.
Weaknesses:
- Financially, a detailed calculation of the return on investment in setting up the initiative is lacking, although available data did not exclude that such calculation would be feasible in the next future.
- CAMPUS is not yet fully integrated into the Italian care system but it stands alone.
Opportunities:
- Municipalities are interested in coping the problem of the low skill of MCWs and thus they were available to fund the activities. Considering the economical crisis that leads also Italian women to seek work in the care sector and the constant increased number of MCW arriving in Italy, there will be the need of training more and more in the next future.
- Affordability of the used technologies: the MOODLE tool is a valuable resource released with an open source license available worldwide to private and public actors.
- The contribution from a multidisciplinary team, made of social workers, medical doctors, nurses and ICT professionals opens new opportunities of effectiveness
- Especially initiatives addressing migrant care workers, as CAMPUS, have the potentiality to be offered to a wider and promising market.
Threats:
- The constant need of developing a simpler and user friendly design to further ease the access to people with low ICT skills and be competitive on the market. The constant need of developing a simpler and user friendly design to further ease the access to people with low ICT skills and be competitive on the market.
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After the conclusion of the ASPASIA project, that set up and implemented the initiative, CAMPUS was added with more languages, new videos and other material and its use was finally consolidated after the end of the project. CAMPUS has a wide national coverage as its user-friendliness allows an easy transferability and reproducibility in others national contexts. At the end of the PIC Equal, the project continued its activities in several local editions (i.e. in the Provinces of Milano in Lumbardy; Venice in Veneto; Ferrara, Reggio Emilia, Rimini, Bologna and Modena in Emilia-Romagna; Medio Campidano in Sardinia; Palermo in Sicily; in the municipality of Bolzano in Trentino-Alto Adige, etc.) of training courses for care workers (including migrant care workers) funded by local authorities (i.e. Provinces, municipalities) and by other sources (i.e. inter-professional funds). The CAMPUS platform has been used also in these courses. Thanks to its user friendliness and flexibility a further implementation of CAMPUS in other local, national and international areas is feasible. A key role in this regard will be played by stakeholders’ choices and investments in the initiative and the expansion of training to caregivers. |
The e-learning model based on different modules promoted by CAMPUS has been transferred in Bulgaria and Greece through the Set Care project (http://www.setcare.eu/index.php/en/).
More Information
includes contacts, publications and accompanying documents
References:
Boccaletti L., D’Angelo S., Garuti S., Seneca R. (2010), The exploitation of set care: case studies and experiences from Italy, internal document kindly provided by Anziani e non solo NGO (internal document not published).
Updating with Mrs Licia Boccaletti, Anziani e non solo Project Manager, by e-mail and telephone, in January 2014.
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Resources |
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Administrative Address For information:
Project Area Web Area info@informanziani.it |
Training Area
formazione@anzianenosolo.it
fad@azianienonsolo.it