EMPOWERCARE project shows how technology can help older people manage their own care

University of Brighton researchers contributed insights to €4 million project investigating how innovative solutions can address gaps in care and empower users.

Key findings from the EMPOWERCARE project have been shared regarding innovative solutions to support individuals and communities to manage their own care.

Held virtually, the final conference brought together representatives from all 13 project partners based across the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, and France, along with representatives from local government, care organisations, health professions and technology developers.

EMPOWERCARE was a €4 million project funded by EU Interreg 2 Seas. The three-year technological and social innovation project sought to address the current gaps in the care of people aged 65 plus, or 50 plus with at least one chronic health condition, and empower people to take more responsibility for their care using technology and local services to keep them healthy and motivated.

The conference shared the main project outputs:

• An empowerment strategy to deliver what matters to individuals and communities in managing their own care, and a workforce transformation package to upskill the adult social care workforce.
• A technology blueprint on initiatives and technology that support enablement at individual and community level, testing different technologies in co-production with the target group and conducted by researchers from the University of Brighton.
• A comprehensive evaluation of the EMPOWERCARE approach to outline the benefits and key outcomes of the project.

The evaluation findings highlighted that the approach of the project had a positive impact on end-users. They experienced improved levels of self-efficacy and digital literacy in managing their own health, as well as reduced levels of emotional and social loneliness.

Dr Theo Fotis, project lead for the University of Brighton, led on the development of the technology blueprint and said:

“We worked with citizens at our Digital Health Living Lab to develop a technology blueprint on initiatives and technology that support enablement at both the individual and community level. We wanted to address the fact that older people are not always fully involved in decisions concerning their own health and wellbeing. Our research explored how we can ensure that the right support is in place to enable people to remain in their homes and keep healthy and motivated while being supported by their local community.”

Find out more about the Living Lab and how it has been used to inform developments for this project and other studies.

Anyone can register to access the EMPOWERCARE technology blueprint survey dashboard and once finalised, all of the output documents will be made publicly available via the EMPOWERCARE project website, or via the Virtual Skill Lab.