Challenges

Inconsistencies across countries

Netcarity has to take account of differences in:

National healthcare infrastructures - some countries offer free healthcare as a component of the welfare state. Others have privatised systems.
Legislation for older people

Netcarity aims to acknowledge and work within the legal and political fragmentation in Europe to focus on the needs of older people regardless of where they live.

Fragmented technologies

Netcarity has a huge range of technologies to consider – many of them not compatible with each other. The project will:

Select the best combination of technologies
Provide the engineering research required to make them work together

Different needs

Not everyone over 65 has the same needs. Some older people are healthy and active, while some need a lot of monitoring and regular assistance.

Netcarity is catering for this by:

Offering services which can be added to the system as required -

Basics, such as access to interactive religious services may be provided free by a local authority
Others, such as digital television, radio and other entertainment functions, may be added by the user if required.

Design for older people

Many systems designed for older people have been rejected because they focus on technology and do not take account of users’ needs and attitudes.

Netcarity is guided by what older people communities want. This requires systems which are:

Attractive
Simple to use
Require little training

It must also be guided by the needs of those already supporting this community. It must be easy for caregivers, social services, and housing associations to use, for example. It must take into account their existing processes, technology and guidelines.