Leader: Veronica Moretti (UNIBO); Other collaborator(s): Riccardo Pronzato (UNIBO)
Within a work plan that aims to design an e-learning platform directed at informal caregivers of people with dementia, the following task has three main goal.
- Co-design: to include the perspectives and needs of the end-users, as well as the role of social and digital inequalities in the co-design process in order to ensure accessibility, equity, and establish a strong and lasting partnership with the stakeholders involved.
- Post-design: collect user feedback about the platform in order to analyze the adoption of the technology following its release. This phase will assess end-user practices, the impact of the platform on training and care processes, actual benefits to users, issues that have arisen during use, and any changes and updates that need to be implemented to improve the platform and make the project sustainable in the long term.
- Dissemination: to develop and carry out dissemination initiatives of the platform and the results obtained, in order to raise awareness among various stakeholders and the public about the issues covered by the project and the potential of the tools offered.
Brief description of the activities and of the intermediate results:
The project consists of 3 methodological phases:
- Co-design: the principles of co-participatory logic were followed in the development of the platform to ensure the integration of different stakeholder perspectives, supporting the development of patient-centered technologies and their incorporation into clinical practice. Stakeholder involvement draw on the methodological principles of participatory techniques (including Open Space Technology and Living Lab) and find its implementation in focus groups that will allow to discuss the needs of caregivers and other stakeholders who will use the platform.
- Post-design: Once the platform is implemented, it will then be necessary to assess its impact ex post. Indeed, interacting with users in the post-design phase is crucial because people often interact with technologies in ways that were not planned by the developers; therefore, to acquire the data needed to refine a platform, it is necessary to wait until the artifact, or a beta version of it, has been deployed and used by end users. To do this, the use of end-user interviews and focus-groups involving other stakeholders is proposed.
- Dissemination activities will cover a large part of the project to intensify during the last year. There will be traditionally designed activities (e.g., participation in conferences, etc.) and other activities that can engage and raise awareness among the following social actors: (i) patients and patient associations; (ii) home caregivers; (iii) policy makers in the health sector; and (iv) the public interested in the issue of caregiving.
Main policy, industrial and scientific implications
The dissemination phase will require to reach out to caregivers, patient associations, policymakers, the academic community, and, in particular, citizens interested in the topic of caregiving. The dissemination initiatives will enable the implementation and development of the principles of relational ethics, i.e., the idea that the research process should develop mutual caring relationships involving researchers, participants, and the public to foster positive change within society.
Each task conducted a literature review regarding its topic of expertise. In this case, a literature review was conducted regarding studies using a co-design approach to create eHealth interventions, digital inequalities, and critical studied on the production of technology .
Each task participated in data collection to co-design the platform and its content. Specifically, this task participated in the supervision of the interviews and focus groups with family caregivers.
Moreover, contributions were presented at national and international conferences.
Each task participated in the construction and revision of the lessons that will constitute the content of the platform. Specifically, this task reviewed the learning modules about: communication, diagnosis, home environment management, the care of the caregiver, technologies and active ageing, territorial networks and services and the biographical folder of the patient.
Moreover, contributions were presented at national and international conferences.
During this period, significant progress was made in reviewing and refining the learning modules, ensuring their relevance, clarity, and alignment with the needs of formal and informal caregivers, family care assistant with a migration background and social service professionals.
Furthermore, this task played a key role in supervising the collaboration between the external company hired to design the e-learning platform and each task of the project team. Regular meetings were held to review progress, provide feedback, and ensure that the design and development of the platform can be closely aligned with the needs identified in the co-design phase. This collaboration ought to allow for the integration of user-centered features into the platform, with particular attention to user experience, usability, and functionality. The research team aims to ensure that all technological developments remain consistent with the project’s goals of accessibility, equity, and social inclusion.
Furthermore, contributions continued to be presented at national and international conferences.
- Pronzato, R. (2024, 18-20 September). Co-design and the enactment of digital technologies: a theoretical perspective on eHealth interventions [Conference presentation]. Midterm Italian Sociological Association (AIS) Conference, Salento University, Lecce, Italy.
- Pronzato, R. (2024, 11-13 September). Co-design and the enactment of digital technologies: a theoretical perspective on eHealth interventions [Conference presentation]. Spoke5 Conference, University of Molise, Termoli, Italy,.
- Pronzato, R. (2024, 27-30 August). Enacting algorithmic technologies in the co-design of eHealth interventions [Conference presentation]. 16th European Sociological Association (ESA) Conference, Porto, Portugal.
- Pronzato, R. (2024, 16-19 July). Enacting AI/ML-based systems in the co-design of eHealth interventions [Conference presentation]. European Association for the Study of Science and Technology and the Society for Social Studies of Science (EASST/4S) Conference, Amsterdam, Netherlands.
- Pronzato, R. (2024, 3-5 July). Enacting algorithmic technologies in the co-design of eHealth interventions [Conference presentation]. 20th Biennial European Society of Health and Medical Sociology (ESHMS) conference, Antwerp, Belgium.
- Pronzato, R. (2024, 20-22 May). Enacting algorithmic technologies in the co-design of eHealth interventions [Poster presentation]. General Meeting Age-It, Ca’ Foscari University, Venice, Italy.
- Pronzato, R., Moretti, V., Chirico, I., Golino, A., Grignoli, D., Santini, S. & Chattat, R: (2024, 20-21 September). Addressing digital inclusion in the co-design of an e-learning platforms for home caregivers [Conference presentation]. Digital Inclusion Policy and Research Conference, University of Liverpool, UK, online.