Acorn SMART Tablet Pilot

Status: Completed

Evaluated

Louth Ireland

Print this page City population: 12289715.4% over 60Practice started in 2019

Summary

The ACORN pilot project sought to demonstrate the impact of smart technology solutions specifically designed for improving social inclusion, health and wellbeing of older adults. 28 Participants from Louth took part in this project. Each participant received an age friendly designed “ACORN” smart tablet.

The objectives of the Pilot were:

To demonstrate how an age friendly tablet designed solution, with the appropriate supports, can significantly impact the health and well being of older adults living in urban and rural communities.
Gain valuable insights and evidence on ‘what works’ in supporting older adults to ‘go online’ in order to access the full range of supports and local services

Over the period of the trial, participants were invited to attend periodic group training sessions. They were asked to test features of the device and to give opinions on improvements. Their comments and feedback informed the final product design and this feedback was submitted in order to inform National and Local Government policy.

Key facts

Main target group: Vulnerable older people (e.g. at risk or victims of abuse, living alone, poor etc.)

Other target group(s): People keen to adopt digital smart technologies but limited in the skills needed to use these technologies

Sector(s): Information and communication

Desired outcome for older people:
Build and maintain relationships

Other issues the Age-friendly practice aims to address:

Ageism
Accessibility
Ageing in place
Inequities
Inclusion
Participation
Technologies

Contact details

Name: Mary Deery

Email address: mary.deery@louthcoco.ie

Age-friendly practice in detail (click to expand):

Engaging the wider community

Project lead: Local authorities

Others involved in the project:

Older People’s Association
Volunteers
Private sector
Research institution

How collaboration worked: The ACORN Project team was led by Age Friendly Louth in collaboration with Cliffrun Media Ltd, and 30 older participants from Louth county. Team members from Louth supported the project at local level, including the Age Friendly County Coordinator and the Older Person’s Council Support Coordinator. In addition, a number of volunteer peer mentors supported the learning. Funding for the project was provided Louth County Council.

Older people’s involvement: Older people were involved in the age-friendly practice at multiple or all stages

Details on older people’s involvement: Older people in Louth were co-creators of the end product which subsequently went to market in late 2019

Moving forward

Has the impact of this age-friendly practice been analysed: Yes

Was the impact positive or negative:
Positive

Please share with us what you found in detail:
• Technology The trial showed significant increases in the utilisation of smart tablet features. Participants accessed more applications more frequently with minimal training and intervention. Age friendly websites were more frequently utilised by participants. Where text size could not be enlarged or applications were confusing, users tended to avoid. Training • Mixing very proficient participants with those who have no computer skills can be both positive and negative. Peer mentoring proved to be a very successful means of helping those participants who found the training more challenging. All of the project trial participants found peer learning a very positive and enjoyable experience. Social • The enthusiasm and belief that they could use the ACORN became evident quickly, despite the relative newness of the concepts, and initial nervousness. The Louth participants wanted to have their contacts set up, they wanted everyone in the room in their group and if they lost contacts for any reason would always get in touch to let us know. They were keen to message and call and send calendar invites to occasions.

Feedback:
The involvement of older people in product development at design stage was insightful on the part of the device provider. It presented the older participants with an opportunity to influence the look and feel of the product and, more importantly, to have a say in the content. This made the process a more meaningful and relevant experience for them. It also provided the Product Development team with first-hand experience of how older people interact with smart technology and their perspectives on what otherwise might have been alien to them

Expansion plans:
Funding dependent

Looking back

Reflections:
A very positive pilot: The success of the project was an agreed exit strategy between Louth County Council and Cliffrun

Challenges:
A number of the participants had health issues and couldn’t make some of the sessions as a result but they sent messages from hospital and were keen not to miss out. Other than this exception, small group sessions had full attendance.