| 1. |
|
|
| 2. |
|
|
| 3. |
- Fischl, Caroline, 1974-
(författare)
-
Ageing in a digital society : an occupational perspective on social participation
- 2020
-
Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- Background: For older adults to continue being healthy and active participants in an evolving digitalized society, there is a need to support their social participation through engagement in occupations that they need, want, or are expected to do in accordance to the roles that they assume. Occupational therapists together with other professionals face emerging challenges to promote older adults’ engagement in occupations mediated by digital technology. It is therefore relevant to acquire an understanding about how older adults continue to participate in their daily lives and engage in the occupations within their particular contexts. It is also relevant to explore ways to tailor supports for engaging in contemporary occupations and to measure the outcomes of such supports. Aim: The overall aim of this thesis was to develop knowledge to support older adults’ social participation through engagement in occupations mediated by digital technology. Developing knowledge entailed an exploration of older adults’ engagement in occupations mediated by digital technology (Study I), their contexts surrounding social participation (Study II), and tailoring supports for engagement (Study III). Additionally, part of developing knowledge also entailed an investigation of how outcomes of tailoring – specifically ability to perform occupation mediated by digital technology and ability to manage technology – could be measured and related (Study IV).Methods: Study participants were selected from rural and urban municipalities in Northern Sweden. In Study I, data was gathered through concurrent think aloud protocol and observations of ten older adults, aged 66-79 years, while they engaged in occupations that involved digital technology. Narrative inquiry was used to illuminate features in their occupational engagement and participation in daily life. In Study II, focus group interviews of eighteen older adults, aged 66-81 years, were conducted and analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Study III used a multiple case study methodology that included nine cases. Each case involved one adult who participated in a collaborative process to tailor supports for engagement in occupations mediated by digital technology. Data was gathered through questionnaires, observations, fieldnotes, memos for tailoring, and interviews, and then analyzed through cross-case synthesis. Nine older adults, aged 74-95 years, participated. In Study IV, twenty-five older adults, aged 71-93 years, were observed in their performances of digital technology-mediated occupations and scored on the Assessment of Computer-Related Skills and the Management of Everyday Technology Assessment. Data was analyzed using Rasch analysis and Spearman correlation test. Results: Findings in Study I were presented as three stories reflecting facets of participation – Being alone, Belonging together, and Being alone together. The stories illuminated older adults’ participation involving digital technology as a negotiation of needs and values, refinement of identities, and experience of meaning during interactions with technological and social environments. Findings in Study II were sorted in three categories – Experiencing conditions for social participation in a state of flux, Perceiving drawbacks of urbanization on social participation, and Welcoming digital technology that facilitates daily and community living – and encapsulated in the theme The juxtaposition of narrowing offline social networks and expanding digital opportunities for social participation. The findings suggested that facilitating satisfactory use of digital technologies and co-creating usable digitalized services could support older adults’ social participation through occupations that they find relevant in their lives, and subsequently, might enable them to live longer at home. Study III resulted in a proposed scheme for tailoring to support older adults’ engagement in digital technology-mediated occupations. The scheme included various intervention strategies tailored to persons in their contexts, such as adapting visual settings on the device and forming instructional materials based on the older adults' needs and preferences. Tailoring interventions require collaboration with other professionals. Results in Study IV indicated preliminary evidence of internal validity and reliability in two aforementioned instruments on a small sample of older adults. Results also showed that there is a significant and strong positive correlation between the ability to engage in digital technology-mediated occupations and the ability to manage digital technology. It implies that an older person who is more able to engage in digital technology-mediated occupations will likely have more ability to manage digital technology and vice versa. In the same manner, an older person who is less able to engage in digital technology-mediated occupations will likely have less ability to manage digital technology and vice versa.Conclusions: In the contexts of ageing, narrowing social networks, and expanding digital possibilities, participation through satisfactory digital technology use can provide older adults opportunities to continue being active members of society. A scheme has been proposed to tailor supports for older adults’ occupational engagement, which needs further testing in various practice settings. Instruments for measuring outcomes of tailored supports have also been identified but need further validation in studies with older people.
|
|
| 4. |
|
|
| 5. |
|
|
| 6. |
- Fischl, Caroline, et al.
(författare)
-
Building professional resilience to meet challenges emerging from digitalization
- 2021
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- Professional resilience deals with a person’s capacity to overcome challenges in one’s work or practice and to use resulting experiences for personal and professional development. Digitalization has become one of the challenges occupational therapists encounter today. Concerns include meeting clients with occupational issues involving digital technology, improving one’s own and clients’ digital competence, using telehealth in the workplace, and keeping updated with e-health products or services. Building professional resilience involves finding opportunities for reflection, discussions, and a supportive environment. Thus, the objective of this workshop is to provide an opportunity to reflect on one’s practice and share ideas and strategies to deal with challenges emerging from digitalization.The workshop will start with information about results from research and development work, continue with reflection and small group discussions, and close with a summary of what has been discussed. By the end of the workshop, participants are expected to (1) identify at least one personal strength to meet an identified challenge, (2) identify at least one strategy that can be applied in their own practice, and (3) identify at least one resource that can serve as support.
|
|
| 7. |
- Fischl, Caroline, et al.
(författare)
-
Measurement of older adults’ performance in digital technology-mediated occupations and management of digital technology
- 2021
-
Ingår i: British Journal of Occupational Therapy. - : Sage Publications. - 0308-0226 .- 1477-6006. ; 84:6, s. 376-387
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Introduction: Supporting older adults’ digital engagement requires an understanding of how occupational performance and technology use are related, as well as having a range of methods that can assist occupational therapists while observing occupational performance and management of technology. The study objectives were to investigate how older adults’ ability to perform digital technology-mediated occupations and ability to manage digital technology could be measured and to examine the association between these two abilities.Method: Twenty-five older adults were observed performing digital technology-mediated occupations and managing digital technologies, and were scored on two instruments: the Assessment of Computer-Related Skills and the Management of Everyday Technology Assessment. FACETS was used to generate respective multifaceted Rasch measurement models for scores on the instruments. The Spearman correlation test was used to investigate correlation between person ability measures from respective Rasch models of the instruments.Results: The results include item, occupation, and technology difficulty estimates, as well as person ability measures that could illustrate older adults’ ability to perform occupations and to manage technology. There is also a strong positive correlation between these abilities.Conclusion: Insight into an older person’s ability to manage technology can provide information about his or her ability to perform digital technology-mediated occupations and vice versa.
|
|
| 8. |
- Fischl, Caroline, et al.
(författare)
-
Older adults’ perceptions of contexts surrounding their social participation in a digitalized society—an exploration in rural communities in Northern Sweden
- 2020
-
Ingår i: European Journal of Ageing. - : Springer. - 1613-9372 .- 1613-9380. ; 17:3, s. 281-290
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Social participation and digital engagement can contribute to health and well-being among older adults. Because of older adults’ decline in abilities, coupled with complex technology and its perceived insufficient relevance to daily life, there is a need to create and tailor social opportunities and services that are supported by digital technologies for older adults to continue participating in society. Thus, it becomes relevant to explore older adults’ perceptions about contexts surrounding their social participation in a digital society. This exploration used a qualitative research design with focus group interviews and qualitative content analysis. Eighteen older adults, aged 66–81 years, from rural communities in Northern Sweden, participated in this study. The analysis resulted in three categories: experiencing conditions for social participation in a state of flux, perceiving drawbacks of urbanization on social participation, and welcoming digital technology that facilitates daily and community living. These categories were encapsulated in the theme—the juxtaposition of narrowing offline social networks and expanding digital opportunities for social participation. The findings suggested that co-creating usable digitalized services and facilitating satisfactory use of digital technologies could support older adults’ social participation through activities that they find relevant in their lives, and subsequently, might enable them to live longer at home.
|
|
| 9. |
- Fischl, Caroline, et al.
(författare)
-
Tailoring to support digital technology-mediated occupational engagement for older adults – a multiple case study
- 2020
-
Ingår i: Scandinavian Journal of Occupational Therapy. - : Taylor & Francis. - 1103-8128 .- 1651-2014. ; 27:8, s. 577-590
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Background: With the evolution of contemporary occupations mediated by digital technologies (DTs), there is a need for occupational therapists to develop and structure knowledge on how to support older adults’ engagement in occupations and social participation in a digitalised society.Objective: The objective of this study is to explore how tailoring to support older adults’ engagement in DT-mediated occupations could be schematised.Material and methods: The study employed a multiple case study methodology. There were nine cases, with each case involving an older adult undergoing a collaborative process to support engagement in DT-mediated occupations. The collaborative process was initiated through questionnaires, observations, and dialogues. Meetings and tailoring strategies were documented in fieldnotes and memos on tailoring, respectively. Semi-structured interviews concluded data collection. Cross-case synthesis was used in data analysis.Results: The result is a proposed scheme for tailoring to support older adults’ engagement in digital technology-mediated occupations, wherein strategies undertaken in the collaborative processes were synthesised and described.Conclusion and significance: The proposed scheme for tailoring could contribute to occupational therapists’ knowledge on how to support older adults’ engagement in contemporary occupations. Testing the model in various practice settings is recommended in order to enhance occupational therapy practice.
|
|
| 10. |
- Iqbal, Sarfraz, et al.
(författare)
-
Co-designing digital self-care in later life
- 2022
-
Ingår i: OR64: OR for a better world together. ; , s. 63-63
-
Konferensbidrag (refereegranskat)abstract
- The discipline of Digital health is devoted to the accumulation of sociotechnical aspects which includes running digital care programs, healthcare technologies, sharing health related experiences, providing support for the people with chronic diseases and healthcare needs of the society to deliver the healthcare services in an effective manner. This is a special project which is focused on older persons’ health (range 65 to 79 years) in the home setting from the perspectives of design science, information ethics, systems thinking, information technology, and occupational science/therapy. Older people represent a particular community which is very focused on self-care to maintain and enhance health, prevent disease and cope with illness, as well as keep themselves social and participate in their community. However, generally, it is thought that the elderly community is reluctant to adopt new technologies and are seldomly included in the development of new technologies. Therefore, it is relevant to ask: How can emerging technologies support older person’s self-care and social participation? Implementation and use of technology at home is not only important for the older persons and their families, but it also impacts other stakeholders including care personnel, municipal health and social care managers as well as health sector policymakers. Overall, aim of the project is to establish the sustainable process of capturing and describing the self-care requirements and specifications for older people in Sweden and Japan through the development of a digital self-care tool together with older people. Following goals are set for this project:To establish close collaborations with the technology industry (e.g., medtech start-ups from Sweden and Japan).Applying ELSI framework.Seeking partners from researcher and practitioners’ community, industry, end-users.To explore the needs of community-dwelling older persons for self-care and participation in their communities and society.To explore available technologies to support older persons’ self-care and digital engagement in the communities and society.
|
|
