A longitudinal investigation of new ‘Smart Speaker’ personal assistants to improve independence and wellbeing in social care settings
Can new ‘smart speaker’ technologies, such as the Amazon Echo, improve wellbeing, independence and safety in social care? This fellowship will investigate this question for people with learning disabilities living in supported accommodation and older adults living in sheltered accommodation. The central message of the recent parliamentary review of Health and Care in Wales (2018) was that social care faces a growing number of challenges and must adapt to remain future proof. Smart technology is becoming increasingly important and ubiquitous in all aspects of modern life, and social care could capitalise on these rapid advances to find novel solutions to promote sustainable models of support. Mainstream smart technologies allow people to control their home environment via voice or motor commands, are cost-effective, and continue to evolve and improve.
The two main goals of this fellowship are to:
- Improve wellbeing, independence and safety for vulnerable individuals - ranging from those who wish to remain living independently for longer to those who currently need a high degree of support.
- Produce an evidence-base to allow future social care decisions to capitalise on emerging smart technology.
A sense of control and independence is a major predictor of mental health and wellbeing in people with learning disabilities and older adults. Smart technologies could increase independence by allowing individuals more control over their daily lives and environments.
In collaboration with social care organisations, I will investigate whether introducing smart technologies into social care settings can improve independence and wellbeing of individuals receiving support. Participants taking part in the research will be adults with learning disabilities, older adults, and their care support staff. Within these groups, support needs and previous experience of technology are wide-ranging, providing a varied sample from two of the largest groups receiving care support in Wales. The research will use a mixture of questionnaires and interviews.
Participants will be followed over 28 months to provide a rich description of the impact of smart technologies over time.