Eurocarers
European association working for carers
DISCOVER Skills for Carers.
Summary
DISCOVER Skills for Carers is an on line social network created through a pan-European project. The network offers information, advice, guidance and training to support the wellbeing of carers and to develop their digital skills. There are more than 1,000 users comprising informal and formal carers, volunteers, care organisations and policymakers.
The project is led by Digital Birmingham and it was funded with a budget of €3.60 millions of which €1.8 million from the European Competitiveness and Innovation ICT Policy Support Programme.
Services provided are support, information sharing and communication for carers and care recipients at their home and in community locations. The DISCOVER website collated a large amount of care related information to make them easily accessible.
Partner organisations comprise local authorities, universities, private and public carer providers and foundations.
The service might improve the caring skills, social inclusion and self-confidence of carers and to a higher quality of life. For the National Health Service, it could improve the general quality of care and decrease the number of hospitalisations.
Description
refers to the target users, kind of service provided, ICTs typologies and devices used
DISCOVER aims to tackle three main issues: 1) increase digital competency; 2) increase use of ICT for social care; 3) social inclusion of carers. The initiative believes in using digital technologies to facilitate informal carers’ access to needed information, to support knowledge and information sharing and to foster their well-being and that of care recipients. The new DISCOVER learning environment intends to enhance care experiences through learning and technology delivery and includes tools for participants and teachers to communicate.
The main motivation was that digital technologies can transform the experience of carers and their care recipients. However, this requires that familiarity with these technologies, which DISCOVER intends to facilitate There are many web sites providing useful information on a range of topics (health, housing, finance and support) and DISCOVER’s purpose is to select the best websites and to make them accessible. Similarly, handheld devices as mobile phones can potentially improve communication between formal and informal carers. Many informal carers find it helpful to meet through local support groups. However, some informal carers cannot attend such groups due to their heavy care burden. Another driver is that sometimes informal carers are unaware of the support and the services that are available.
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
Information, support, experience sharing and communication for carers and care recipients.
DISCOVER services raise awareness of the benefits of carers’ digital skills and of sharing these with care recipients, in a mutually supportive way by means of:
- Digital training for informal and formal carers
- Easily accessible information
- Expert guidance for carers
- Free access of carers to a wide range of online resources
- Opportunities to network and learn from other carers and programmes.
DISCOVER contents are driven by the needs of users:
- Patient learning content for carers
- Knowledge of telecare/telehealth technologies for independent living
- Self-development training
Carers can watch short video clips on caring and, later, discuss or share an idea with other carers through the DISCOVER website.
In addition, support was provided through a model of digital inclusion for carers; different resources, including learning programmes, designed with and for carers to support them and, finally, the DISCOVER website which collates many kinds of contents and materials. In this respect, the website has a vast amount of information on health conditions, services and support to improve the quality of life of carers and care recipients. DISCOVER has collated topic-specific content on the web by identifying the best information on a range of relevant care topics. This allows carers to easily find the right information. Some of the covered items are: falls prevention, improving the home with assisted living technology, first aid, coping with a diagnosis, setting up a Google e-mail account developing a CV that accurately reflects learning achievements and transferring the skills developed in the caring role into non-care-related job roles.
Different tools including computers, tablets, mobile phones and digital television.
Operational Information
refers to the type of funding, budget, sustainability and organisations involved
Not available
Not appllicable
The business purpose is to digitally train carers particularly focusing on opportunities for informal carers as a socially excluded group. The strategies to reach this objective are repurposing and improving existing content, integrating the DISCOVER platform with existing systems and providing digital learning experiences. The business infrastructure derives from existing eLearning systems in Birmingham (Birmingham City University, The Open University) and Thessaloniki (Aristotle University Thessaloniki). Trading practices, and operational processes are based on the ‘learn to learn’ approach to support personal development and employability of carers, which can lead to improved care, greater skills and self-reliance.
In terms of target users, the DISCOVER portal will develop new content for digital skill training and use the most appropriate technology and innovative methods of learning to reach and engage carers. The project also plans to continue improving its existing content so that the portal will become the single entry point for carers. The service is continually evaluated to test its sustainability as a service provider for carers and care organisations. Moreover, awareness raising and dissemination activities are carried out to increase ICT integration in the EU among carers and to gain new users and funding.
Total budget: €3.60 million. EU contribution: €1.80 million.
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
Professionals involved work for the project partners: Birmingham City Council (UK), Birmingham City University (UK), The Open University (UK), Astra-Com Vof (The Netherlands), Aristotelio Panepistimio Thessalonikis (Greece), Fundació Privada Cetemmsa (Spain), Coventry University Enterprises Limited (UK), Fundación Intras (Spain), Dundalk Institute Of Technology (Ireland). Their various roles are described on the online advisory board at http://www.discover4carers.eu/?q=content/public-advisory-board
Volunteers collaborate with INTRAS Foundation act as mentors and give peer support.
The number of users is variable as the platform offers different services and users can benefit from one or another. Thus it is difficult to estimate the exact number of users among visitors.
Information and communication channels are the blog, the presence on other social networks, such as Facebook and Twitter, online video workshops and info days. An initial presentation workshop was run by Digital Birmingham in May 2011.
Evaluation
refers to the impact of the service on end-users, care organisations and authorities
Not available
Not available
Not available
Strengths:
- Contents of the service are based on the effective needs of users.
Weaknesses:
- The project is ongoing and an impact assessment is not yet available.
Opportunities:
- DISCOVER is accessible even to people with limited or no experience of using online social networks thanks to guides.
- DISCOVER allows informal carers to interact with each other and create social networks. This aspect is an opportunity to reach new users.
Threats:
- The project will end in nine months and it is unclear if it will be refunded. This users will be unsupported and presumably lose their improved quality of life.
DISCOVER should be easily transferable to other countries since the service fills the need, which is an issue in every country, to remain in contact with friends and family living far away. To increase DISCOVER scalability and transferability the service was piloted in 4 testbeds in Thessaloniki, several locations across the Netherlands, in Zamora, in Valladolid and in Birmingham. 400 informal and formal carers were digitally trained to become the mentors of their peers and older care recipients. In addition, support was provided through:
- resources, including learning programmes, designed with and for carers to support them;
- the DISCOVER website which collates material.
More Information
includes contacts, publications and accompanying documents
Resources:
http://www.digitalbirmingham.co.uk/projects/digital-skills-for-carers
http://ec.europa.eu/information_society/apps/projects/factsheet/index.cfm?project_ref=297268
Contact person:
Heike Schuster-James
Programme Manager - Digital Birmingham
Birmingham City Council
1 Lancaster Circus PO Box 16136 B2 2WD
Birmingham
UNITED KINGDOM
Telephone: 0044 121 675 8887
Email: birmingham@discover4carers.eu
Also an on line contact us form is provided