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Original Research

Hitting a moving target: digital transformation and welfare technology in Swedish municipal eldercare

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Pages 103-111 | Received 07 Mar 2019, Accepted 08 Jul 2019, Published online: 26 Jul 2019
 

Abstract

Introduction

This article contributes to the discussion on digital transformation and welfare technology in municipal eldercare. The aim of welfare technology solutions is to exceed the current welfare system and to meet the challenges of an ageing population through technological innovations and applications that help people to better cope with health issues and strengthen their participation, activity and independence regarding their own healthcare.

Methods

First, this article outlines a number of different perspectives on technological and social change. Against this backdrop, this article portrays the challenges faced by Swedish municipal eldercare organizations due to the moving targets of digital transformation and the development of welfare technologies.

Conclusion

In this context, eldercare organizations are at risk of becoming victims of the fast pace at which technology develops and the rhetoric of technological determinism; they may try to pursue the latest technological innovation at the expense of their stakeholders’ needs. The implementation and deployment of welfare technology become a real-world social experiment. Without proper tools for evaluation, welfare technology might be implemented and deployed as an end in itself, instead of as means for better ageing or improved eldercare. This article concludes by framing a set of questions to help increase the understanding of welfare technology implementation and deployment in order to mitigate risks and improve outcomes.

    IMPLICATIONS FOR REHABILITATION

  • Analysis of different perspectives regarding technological and social change.

  • Identification of the challenges faced by municipal eldercare organizations due to digital transformation.

  • Presentation of evaluation questions to increase the understanding of welfare technology implementation and deployment in order to mitigate risks and improve outcomes.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Professor Britt Östlund, who has contributed by securing the funding for this research.

Disclosure statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Swedish Research Council for Health, Working Life and Welfare [grant numbers 01755, 2017].