In the autumn of 2023, Årsta Home Care group in Sweden has evaluated Abilia's digital cognitive solution CARY Base at the residence of about ten people with Home Care assistance.
We meet Mama, who has worked for ten years within the Årsta Home Care group. She talks about her experience with the CARY Base digital calendar clock that some of the users she visits had at home. Mama has revealed that she thinks the introduction of CARY Base has been positive for both users and herself.
Meet Mama, one of the Årsta Home Care staff
Mama is from Gambia and came to Sweden in 2006 and started her studies to become an assistive nurse. When she finished her education, she started working in the Årsta Home Care group and has now been there for over a decade. Mama says that she likes working with people and that the work gives her the opportunity to learn more about and meet different people. She is enjoying herself, but working-life is not entirely without challenges.
Clear communication is a common challenge in everyday life
For Home Care staff like Mama, everyday life is about going to the homes of elderly people who need help with certain tasks in everyday life that they cannot do themselves. A challenge that Mama has in meeting the elderly is to make herself understood as Swedish is not her mother tongue. It is especially noticeable when she has to help people with impaired hearing or impaired cognitive ability. Something that can be stressful for both parties. With the help of CARY Base, communication becomes clearer according to Mama : "CARY Base is clear. This becomes especially important, for example, with those who are hard of hearing, because it facilitates communication, then I don't have to explain so much, but they understand with the help of text and images."
CARY Base – easy to use
CARY Base was tested in Årsta home care group for a few months in the autumn of 2023 read more about it here: Digitization in Årsta home care with the cognitive aid CARY Base | Abilia . Two of the people Mama visits on a regular basis have used CARY Base during the trial period. Although she has not received any training in the actual operation, she thinks that CARY Base is as easy to understand and use as a mobile phone.
Read here about the user Marianne, 91, experiences using CARY Base in Årsta
Positive effects in daily work
For Mama, CARY Base has become an asset in the daily work at home with the users. The screen shows information about what day and time it is, what will happen next and who is coming to visit from, for example, the home care service. Mama says that the users often ask about who is coming next and what time they are coming.
”Then I have to stop and look at the schedule and the phone. CARY Base will then be a great support for both the user and me," says Mama. She sees that CARY Base has also had positive effects and created security for relatives of users because they can also see planned activities. She gives examples where relatives have had time to prepare lunch thanks to having received the information via CARY Base beforehand.
Mama also says that she feels more welcome when she comes to a client's home when they know who is coming and what needs to be done. Then they can shout " Hey Mama!"-Then they are prepared, says Mama and smiles.
Another concrete example is that users who can read on their calendar clock that it is soon time for a shower often sit and wait in their bathrobe ready for their shower. Before, staff needed to spend time explaining he activity and also preparing the person. The staff say that there is less stress, less misunderstandings and better quality for both parties.
Stress-free work environment and more qualitative care
According to Mama, CARY Base has facilitated communication between her and the user and created a more stress-free work environment. ”We save time on it. There is no need for an introduction about what needs to be done and the work can start smoothly. I might save 10 minutes on a visit because the user has already prepared for the shower. It reduces stress for both me and the user. I can take it easy, it won't be so stressful. I'm still there for the same amount of time but there will be more quality, ” Mama concludes.
Predictability that creates security
Mama thinks that all elderly people who have home care would benefit from a CARY Base at home. She believes that it is a security for the users and makes them calmer and it makes it easier for the staff. Despite some early problems with wifi, Mama sees great value in the users being able to keep the CARY Base and hopes that it will be a permanent part of the care for the elderly even after the evaluation. According to Mama, even her colleagues are as positive about CARY Base as she is.
The elderly care of the future has welfare technology that supports the elderly as well as the staff
By sharing her perspective, Mama gives her view on how Abilia's digital cognitive solution CARY Base can make a significant difference in elderly care. It contributes to predictability and facilitates communication, which makes the meeting between home care staff and users better, while enabling a higher quality of care.
Info
For further info, please contact Mikael Lundin
