introducing health and wellbeing technologies Loppuraportti... · 3 mhealth booster 2014 introducing health and wellbeing technologies ... ment of transnational knowledge clusters

3 mHealth booster 2014

introducing health and wellbeing technologies Final report of the mhealth booster project, 17/12/2014

authors:

Frank ryhänen

Paula lehto

eeva Järveläinen

Katariina raij

anniina honkonen

Katja tikkanen

laura aaltonen

layout:

irma savolainen, Jukka Malkamäki

isbn 978-951-799-407-1

4 5mHealth booster 2014 mHealth booster 2014

4.3 user tests from the perspective of the elderly .........................................................

4.3.1 results of user tests .............................................................................................

4.3.2 summary of product testing ...........................................................................

4.4 assessment results from the perspective of experts .............................................

4.5 health and wellbeing technology to support young people in managing everyday life ...................................................................................................

4.5.1 Premises and process of the nuorten Kaupunki (Young People’s city) project............................................................................

4.5.2 results from the perspective of the young ................................................

4.5.3 results from the perspective of youth workers ........................................

4.5.4 conclusions, good practices and ideas for further development ......

5 mhealth booster as a promoter of business ............................................................

5.1 Mapping the competence and labour needs of companies ..............................

5.2 training and coaching for companies and ict professionals .............................

5.3 results of the company survey ......................................................................................

6 mhealth booster as a developer of competence ...................................................

7 discussion ..............................................................................................................................

7.1 ethical issues ........................................................................................................................

7.2 reliability analysis ..............................................................................................................

7.3 results analysis ...................................................................................................................

7.4 Future challenges ...............................................................................................................

references .............................................................................................................................

appendix ...............................................................................................................................

introduction ..........................................................................................................................

abstract ..................................................................................................................................

1 introduction ..........................................................................................................................

1.1 technology-assisted independent living ...................................................................

1.2 Premises and backbround for the project .................................................................

2 objective and tasks of the project ................................................................................

2.1 Project targets.......................................................................................................................

2.2 objective and tasks of the project research ..............................................................

3 action research as an environmental developer .....................................................

3.1 action research as a methodological premise .........................................................

3.2 data collection and analysis ...........................................................................................

3.2.1 Participants .............................................................................................................

3.2.2 Material and its analysis .....................................................................................

4 action research results .....................................................................................................

4.1 Planning of the technology development environments ...................................

4.2 technology development environments ..................................................................

4.2.1 soukka service centre (health and wellbeing kiosk) ..............................

4.2.2 health and wellbeing Marketplace at tapiola health center ..............

4.2.3 teknologialainaamo® .........................................................................................

4.2.5 summary of technology development environment implementation ...................................................................................................

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7 mHealth booster 2014

introduction

utilisation of mobile technologies plays a key role in developing new solutions for social and health care services. important factors include emphasising an individual’s self-care, increased use of information technology, and growing de-mand for services aimed directly at consumers.the mhealth booster project has contributed to promoting the development and introduction of health and wellbeing technology products and services in the espoo and Vantaa technology de-velopment environments, thus allowing compa-ny offerings and user needs to meet. the aim of the project was to increase jobs in the mhealth sector and target them to available ict professio-nals and to promote and increase the business of mhealth companies.the mhealth booster project was prepared in cooperation with culminatum innovation oy ltd. the project began on 1 august 2013 and ended on 31 december 2014. it was funded by the european social Fund and the centre for economic development, transport and environ-ment for uusimaa. the mhealth booster pro ject has targeted laurea’s profile and focus areas very well and has supported cooperation with companies and the construction of user-centred environments.we want to thank the cities of espoo and Vantaa the participating health and wellbeing techno-logy companies for this valuable collaboration. we also want to thank the centre for economic development, transport and environment for uusimaa for making this project possible. a spe-cial thank you goes to the project actors and lau-rea’s students for their active development work.

espoo and Vantaa24/11/2014

tuula Kilpinen taina Viialadirector directorlaurea otaniemi laurea tikkurila


as a result of the ongoing structural change in the ict industry, the number of people entering the uusimaa labour market is higher than in any other region of the country. with regard to ex-tending the careers of these professionals and ensuring the conditions for growth in the region, it is of utmost importance to rapidly focus that competence to support new growth.the global health and health and wellbeing mar-ket will grow at an annual rate of approximately 6% to a value of more than 15.4 billion euros by 2030. demand is particularly high in the follo-wing areas: self-care, use of information techno-logy in health care, and services and solutions aimed at the elderly. identifying new business opportunities in a fast-growing industry can allow ict companies to find rapidly increasing demand for their applications and subsequently recruit new employees as growth occurs.one particular characteristic of the structural change in the ict industry in the capital area is the fact that people with a very wide range of skills become available. the primary challenge is ensuring that the services and products supplied by the companies would meet the demand. gai-ning access to the health and wellbeing market also requires knowledge of health care system procurement processes, competitive tendering practices, standardisation requirements, and health care reimbursement and financing mo-dels. the small size of companies and narrow ser-vice offering also presents challenges to interna-tionalisation, as does the lack of suitable product technology development environments.

1.1 technology-assisted independent livinglaurea university of applied sciences and aalto university took part in the european Jade pro-ject (FP7-regions-2010-1), Joining innovative approaches for the integration and develop-ment of transnational knowledge clusters po-licies related to independent living of elderly. based on swot analyses performed in different

countries, it was found out that although a lot of technology innovations are being produced, they are not well utilised in the social and health care sector. these results are similar to the chal-lenges described in the active and healthy ageing 2011 report (Jade 2012).reasons for this, that were common to both, included the public sector’s ignorance of the existence of technological solutions, user igno-rance concerning technology solutions, a lack of training, and economic factors. the Jade pro ject continued until 2014 and, based on the above-mentioned results, various countries at-tempted to develop new solutions to increase the use of technology.Many earlier projects (cf. laurea’s caringtV 2005 – 2012) have concluded that increasing social and health care costs are a major challenge to the introduction of technological solutions and ehealth services. on the other hand, municipa-lities admit that the challenges presented by population ageing require a search for techno-logical solutions. one example of this is the city of Vantaa’s ageing Policy and implementation Plan (ViKsu), under which the ’new techno-logy in use’ service promise working group was estab lished. the working group’s measures spe-cified, for example, that the city will participate in technology development with companies and research and development institutes, and establish a tech nology library. both Vantaa and espoo worked with laurea and other stakehol-ders to develop the technology library as a radi-cal solution for renewing health services and the service structure. the lending expertise of the city libraries was utilised when developing the technology library concept. the aim was to apply action research to pilot a technology library in Vantaa. the project impact study was aimed at proving the importance of the technology library as part of renewed preventive work, an enabler of ehealth solution usage, a factor for increasing recognition of company expertise, and to impro-ve growth possibilities.

1 introductionabstract

bringing technology to the social and health care as well as to the public sector is the result of collaboration. bringing together technology companies and users, equipment trials and va-rious pilots have all been part of the mhealth booster project. the use of information techno-logy in health care, self-care, and in services for the elderly is a trend and will create ever more jobs for skilled ict-people.the objective of mhealth booster project was to research, develop, plan and produce development environments that utilise well-being technology, and also to evaluate the opportunities generated by the environments to promote health and well-being of people, and to support coping at home. the intention was to create meeting places where companies could test and demonstrate their pro-ducts directly to users in real-life environments. the objective of the project was to promote the establishment of well-being technology products and services to support people’s well-being, reha-bilitation, coping at home, and life management. in addition, the aim was to increase the technology skills, and to generate knowledge about the appli-cation of technology-based solutions.the activities of the project are grouped under three areas: experts, companies and development environments. the experts area aimed at focussing ict professionals on the rapidly growing well-being sector. the companies were targeted to be active actors and product developers for whom the project provided opportunities to meet with the end users. the development environments were meeting places where different players could try out the solutions. Piloted environments were te-chnology demonstration points in soukka service center and tapiola health center in espoo, the technology library at tikkurila library in Vantaa, and a mobile application for young people.the project was based on action research in which new information and activities were produced in the different stages of the project together with the participants. the participants in the project were

clients, experts from social and health care and youth services sectors as well as from education, companies and students. there were altogether 75 elderly people, 29 experts and 15 young people who participated in the research. interviews were used to map the benefits of technology in mana-ging everyday life, the understanding of actors’ and users’ experiences with the equipment as an aide to well-being, as well as the impact of development environments on the development of technology.the development environments piloted in the mhealth booster project have proven to be useful in providing guidance and advice. the companies have gained concrete benefits from the project both in mapping client needs and in developing skills through training. on the other hand, it is difficult to demonstrate all the potential of the development environments for promoting companies’ sales.the exploitation of mobile technology in the social and health care, and particularly in the public sector, still requires development. however, the mhealth booster project has enabled client needs and hopes to be mapped, and has been able to give excellent visibility to well-being technology companies and solutions.

Key words: ehealth, mhealth, well-being technology, coping at home, development environment, user-centred approaches, action research, elderly, young people, user-centred.


2.1 Project targets

the mhealth booster project has promoted the establishment of health and wellbeing techno-logy products and services to support people’s health and wellbeing, rehabilitation, coping at home and life management.the actual target groups of the project are experts who may have become unemployed during the structural change in the ict industry as well as sMes and the applicable parts of their personnel. indirect target groups are professionals in pub-lic sector social and health care and education. technology development environ ment activities may have also provided the third sector with new solutions and benefits. the people responsible for procurement at participating companies have also benefited from the project.

the project targets were:

• To utilise health and wellbeing technology solu-tions developed by companies, and to facilitate the demonstration, testing and development of these solutions• To support the health and wellbeing and inde-pendent living of elderly people through techno-logical solutions• To promote the health and wellbeing of young people and their ability to cope with everyday tasks through technological solutions• To promote the commercial operations of health and wellbeing technology companies• To boost the development of business compe-tencies• To promote employment in the health and wellbeing technology industry, especially for ict pro-fessionals• To advance the technological competencies of staff and students in a real-life operating envi-ronment• To produce research data on the role of techno-logical solutions

the activities of the project are grouped under three areas: experts, companies and technology development environments.the experts area of the project has promoted the establishment of health and wellbeing techno-logy products and services to support people’s health and wellbeing. however, skilled workforce is needed for the design of solutions that utilise technologies, and this may become available as a result of the structural change in the ict industry. one of the project aims has been to focus this expertise on the rapidly growing health and well-being industry. the project has provided availab-le professionals with information about open jobs, interaction opportunities with companies that need professionals in the form of recruiting events and a linkedin group, and training in so-cial and health care industry skills.the companies area targeted health and well-being technology companies that were active product developers and striving to grow their business. the aim of the project was to promote and grow company business, increase business expertise, and assist in bringing together com-pany offerings and user needs. companies have been provided with access to training in business expertise, tailored coaching, workshops, and ot-her networking possibilities.the technology development environments area involved planning and implementing user-centred technology development environ-ments where it was possible to test products and services together with end users, companies and experts. in addition to being used for testing, all of the technology development environments served as places where staff and students who were working with customer groups could ob-tain training and guidance. the technology de-velopment environments piloted during the project were the health and wellbeing kiosk and demonstration points at soukka service centre and the health and wellbeing marketplace de-monstration point at tapiola health center in

2 obJectiVe and tasKs oF the ProJect

1.2 Premises and background for the project

the premises affecting the need for and plan-ning of the project were the growth in the use of information technology in health care, an emphasis on self-care, the increasing demand for services for the elderly, the identified deve-lopment needs in the business and client com-petence of health and wellbeing technology companies, and a lack of user-centred techno-logy development environments.the m/ehealth industry report (Virta 2012) per-formed by culminatum innovation oy ltd in 2011-2012 in uusimaa identified more than 100 health technology companies in which mobile technology already played a key operational role. the identified companies developed so-lutions for health care and elderly care service processes, physical activity and health and well-being applications and, to an increasing extent, applications to support the self-care of indivi-duals. the taltioni self-care service platform of-fered companies a platform for developing glo-bally competitive services.in uusimaa, nearly all of the people entering the labour market are trained experts. in addition to ict, the range of skills possessed by the available professionals is extensive (including hr, marke-ting and project management).

the report highlighted three central de-velopment trends in terms of creating market potential in electronic health care and wellbeing services:

• A rapidly ageing population 65+• Growing interest in health and wellbeing and preventing illness• Information system renewals in health and in health care organisations the challenges of ensuring that supply meets demand were discussed at the ’Procurement processes for a health care organisation – how do supply and demand meet successfully’ se-minar held on 25 september 2012, where defi-ciencies in integration and procurement skills were identified as development needs in terms of companies’ business expertise. For sMes, the

challenge is the rigidity and slowness of procu-rement processes, which can in part be eased by dialogue between municipalities and com-panies.during the preparation phase of the mhealth booster project, information about business de-velopment needs was collected from the follo-wing companies: ekahau inc., beddit ltd, Modz oy, aino active oy, traxmeet ltd, Vivago oy, Mari Mils oy, nearParent oy, commtabs oy, oppifi oy, extensive life oy, and Vitasensis oy.the following experts were heard during pro-ject preparation: tuula Palmen, business oulu (concerning e.g. the structural change in the ict industry in oulu and the avaus project); terhi Kajaste, healthtech Finland Fihta; topi hanhela, health 2.0; Jaakko talvitie, digile (shoK); culmi-natum innovation oy ltd management group and experts; taina tukiainen, culminatum inno-vation, ’working group on the structural change in the ict industry; tuomas teuri, sitra, taltioni project; and representatives of different sectors in the capital area cities. in addition, experts from Forum Virium helsinki participated in pro-ject brainstorming and sharing experiences from similar projects, greater helsinki Promotion experts took part in defining the activities and targets of the mhealth network, and Vtt experts assisted in performing an industry survey.discussions with public and private health care were utilised when planning the project, and establishment events held in laurea’s focus areas (such as expertise in nursing and coping at home) highlighted the need for ehealth ser-vices.in october 2012, culminatum innovation oy ltd and laurea university of applied sciences ltd applied for funding from the european social Fund through the centre for economic develop-ment, transport and environment for uusimaa. during project negotiations, culminatum inno-vation, which was the main implementer in the original application, and laurea uas, which was the sub-implementer, agreed that laurea uni-versity of applied sciences would serve as the applicant and implementing organisation for the project. Funding from the southern Finland regional sections of the esF Programme for con-tinental Finland was granted on 7 June 2013, and the project began as a joint project of laurea’s otaniemi and tikkurila units on 1 august 2013.


3.1 action research as a methodological premise

the mhealth booster project was based on action research, in which new information and activities were produced in the different stages of the pro-ject together with the participants. containing pragmatic and sociological elements, action re-search combines action and research (cf. cohen & Manion 1980, heikkinen 2006). action research is a philosophical approach to researching real and immediate problems. action research uti-lises a variety of research methods (heikkinen 2001). action research is based on a critical and emancipatory knowledge interest, the aim of which is to develop new activity and achieve change (Kyrö 2004). the focus of action research is to achieve change in a certain situation. the objective is not to produce scientific knowledge that can be generalised but to find knowledge that targets a specific situation or purpose and which can be used as the basis for developing a new theory (see cohen and Manion 1980, 208–227). action research is suitable for situa-tions in which the goal is to change something and simultaneously increase understanding and knowledge about the activities and the change. action research is problem-oriented and it can also be described as a critical-reflective research model in which the philosophical approach in-cludes both practice-based and human-centred elements (see Morton-cooper 2000).the mhealth booster project involved planning and implementing a new type of technology development environments with various par-ticipants. these environments gave customers, experts, entrepreneurs, students and researchers the chance to find and create possibilities for co-ping at home with the help of technology pro-ducts and solutions. the operating culture is cha-racterised by simultaneous action and research with the goal of achieving immediate, practical benefits from the research. it is situation-linked,

participatory and self-monitored and it gene-rally requires cooperation (heikkinen 2001). ac-tion research focuses on human activities, and the purpose is to develop practices in a better direction. its objective is to study interaction-ba-sed social reality in order to change it and thus change reality, so that it could be researched. in action research, the researcher plays an ac-tive role and influences the change (heikkinen 2006). the mhealth booster project used data collection and material analysis to find factors and problems that prevented elderly people from coping at home, and to find potential new solutions to promote the coping at home.the principles of action research highlight the following issues: work life orientation, user-orien-tation, striving for practical development, a star-ting point of a shared and jointly experienced problem, examining the reliability of key as-sumptions and challenges, adapting to flexible activity and the possibility of error, accepting that there are no right answers, and validation of all requirements through a precise, verifiable process (Morton-cooper 2000). according to a summary presented by heikkinen (2006), action research is an intervention-based, practical, par-ticipatory, reflective, and social process. Participatory action research (cf. creswell 2005) emphasises the importance of the participants’ role. People are encouraged and empowered to address issues in order for development to be in their best interests. the research process in action research is such that the research subjects are active participants in the change and research processes, research focuses on practice and is, as a process, cyclical in nature, which means alter-nating between planning, activities and assess-ment. in the mhealth booster project, different actors participated in and influenced the process in different phases, thus linking operational plan-ning, implementation and assessment with real situations and events throughout the process.

3 action research as an enVironMental deVeloPer

espoo, the demonstration point and teknologia-lainaamo® technology library at tikkurila library in Vantaa, and a mobile application to support life management for young people who need special support and guidance.

2.2 objective and tasks of the project researchthe objective of the mhealth project research was to study, develop, plan and produce techno-logy development environments that utilise health and wellbeing technology, and to evalua-te the potential of the environments with regard to promoting the health and wellbeing and sup-porting independent living for customer groups of different ages. the aim was to implement customer-centred technology development en-vironments in which health and wellbeing com-panies can test, offer and sell their health and wellbeing technology products and services to customers and experts in an operating environ-ment with the lowest possible threshold.the project collaborated with customers to in-vestigate the user applicability of products and services utilising health and wellbeing techno-logy, as well as cost efficiency from the perspec-tive of selected customer groups, selected ser-vices and technology solutions. the applicability of health and wellbeing technology products was assessed with customers, experts and com-panies in the home environment and the service house environment. the competence of elderly customers, experts and companies were exa-mined from the perspective of needs and new competence.

in particular, the study looked for ans wers to the following questions:

1. what kind of health and wellbeing technology products and services promote independent li-ving and coping with everyday tasks?

2. what understanding/expectations/user expe-riences/evaluations do customers, experts, and entrepreneurs have regarding the application of health and wellbeing technology and services to supporting health and wellbeing and coping with everyday tasks?

3. how does the technology development envi-ronment affect the development of health and wellbeing technology products and services

and customer health and wellbeing and coping at home?

4. what impacts do health and wellbeing techno-logy products and services have on customer health and wellbeing and coping with everyday tasks from the viewpoint of experts’ work (cost efficiency), companies’ business, and producing competence?


3.2 data collection and analysis

3.2.1 Participants

the participants in the project were elderly customers, social and health care and education experts, companies, and students from laurea university of applied sciences. a total of 75 seniors from the es-poo and Vantaa technology development environments took part in the research, 16 men (21.3%) and 59 women (78.7%).the average age in the research group of elderly people was 73.1 years with a standard deviation of 7.7 years. the average age for women was 72.4 years and 75.9 years for men. (Figure 2)

action research involves analysing the back-ground of activities, reflecting on and developing alternatives for solving problems and achieving goals, and producing new knowledge and ope-rating methods (see aaltola & syrjälä 1999, Kuula 2000, heikkinen 2001). the basic foundation for action research is a practical orientation, in which active participation of the research subjects and joint planning of a change-related new activity or intervention plays a central role (Kuula 2000). in the mhealth booster project, new types of tech nology development environments and the related active and participatory operations acti-vated both elderly people and experts to investi-gate and utilise health and wellbeing technology products and services. according to heikkinen et al (2006), several approaches can be applied to the investigative development of activities. design research as part of action research, parti-cularly with regard to developing and renewing customer-oriented services that involved the customers, strengthened the achievement of the goals of the mhealth booster project.

the critical elements of reflection and dialogue play a key role in action research when the tar-get is practical activities (caughan & coughan 2002, Kuula 2000, reason & bradbury 2008). the participants in the mhealth booster project were customers and their significant others, social and health care experts, students, and health and wellbeing technology entrepreneurs. a diverse range of methods were used for data collec-tion during the different phases of the mhealth booster project, and quantitative and qualitative research methods made it possible to map the participants’ expectations and pilot a variety of health and wellbeing technology products and solutions according to the objectives of the pro-ject. the parties involved played an active role in the action research in the mhealth booster project, working with researchers, developers, customers and other participants to shape the problems and objectives. it was essential that the methods were also renewed during the process, making it possible to obtain in-depth user infor-mation. (Figure 1)

assessMent Phaseearlier studies

interviews

Planning Phase

technological development environments

iMPleMentationProducts and services

eValuation Phase and

iMPacts

Figure 1: the action research cycle in the mhealth booster project

Figure 2: age distribution of participants by gender

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11 1

8

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25

20

15

10

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50-59

60-69

70-79

80-89

90-99

Males Females

33.3% had completed folk school or comprehensive school, and 30.7% had earned a vocational diplo-ma or comple ted upper secondary school. 17.3% had completed a bachelor’s degree and 18.7% had completed a master’s degree. 21.3% of the research group lived in a detached house, 61.3% in an apart-ment building, 13.3% in a terrace house, and 1.3% in a service house. For the majority of the respondents, their significant other was a child (46.7%), followed by a spouse (42.7%), while for the remaining 6.7% it was some other person, such as a friend. the average age of the significant other was 59.9 years with a standard deviation of 14.8 years. 50% of the significant others were men and 50% women. only eight people in the research group were officially family carers. three of them had been family carers for less than six months, and the remaining five for more than three years. the experts (n=21) in the above-mentioned senior participants’ operating environment were also in-formation providers in the research. the experts represented the background operating environments of the customer participants, such as a health department unit, service house, or organisation. in the context of elderly people, the average age of the experts was 51.3 years. all but one of the experts were women. one of the experts had completed a postgraduate degree, six experts had a master’s degree, 14 had a bachelor’s degree or secondary-level diploma. only one person had less than five years of work experience and all of the others had more than 10 years of work experience.


assessMent:clients´ exPectations

interviews and workshops

Focus group interviews

Questionnaires and interviews

tests and evaluations

workshops and insights

interviews, documents and experts´ evaluations

assessMent: exPerts´concePtions and exPectations

Planning and iMPleMentation:technologY deVeloPMent

enVironMents

FeedbacK and eValuation

usertests

Future ideations

recoMMendations

Figure 3: data collection and data collection methods in the project

3.2.2 Material and its analysis

both qualitative and quantitative research met-hods were used to collect the material. in the first phase of data collection, the participants were interviewed to map their expectations and to launch activities in the technology deve-lopment environments. in addition to standard individual and group interviews, material was collected in workshops, where the participants were actively involved with regard to creating new ideas together. the participants in product testing were interviewed either alone or in pairs at the beginning and at the end of testing. du-ring the testing, the participants were asked to keep a diary and write about their user expe-riences.the data collected was analysed in a mate-rial-based manner according to qualitative in-ductive content analysis. the content analysis involved classifying the material and searching for common and differentiating features. tuomi and sarajärvi (2009) define material-based con-tent analysis as a three-stage process, in which the material is initially reduced, or simplified, then grouped, and finally abstracted, which means creating theoretical concepts (tuomi & sarajärvi 2009, Kyngäs & Vanhanen, silverman 2001, holloway & wheeler 1996).the quantitative material was analysed using the sPss for windows software. the material processed with the sPss program first had to be converted into data matrix format. a data matrix is a two-dimensional table that speci-fies variables for the columns and marks the measure ment results in the rows by statistical unit (see Kananen 2011, 46). a statistical re-search method for processing the material was used to describe the variables with frequencies, in other words, with direct distributions and percentages. the results were also illustrated in graphic presentations, such as bar diagrams and figures and in tables (see Kankkunen & Veh-viläinen 2009, 100, 103).


all of the participants were interviewed in the first phase, either individually or as a focus group. the par-ticipants were elderly people (n=75) and experts (n=21). the material was analysed using the inductive quantitative method. the material was used to produce a chart illustrating the factors and problems that prevent the elderly from coping at home and related ideas and recommendations for solutions (Figure 4).

loneliness

lack of mobility

• social contacts• activating and motivating• hobbies (music, games etc.)• cooperative solutions (events, parish, library etc.)• online connections

• gym, balance• guidance• Motivating programme• digital teaching material• Information• big screens• ”easy to go” environments

4.1 Planning of the technology development environments

according to the action research process, data collection in the mhealth booster project took place in stages, with the results of each stage affecting implementation of the next stage. in action research, the iterative process is used to evaluate, correct, develop and change the activities according to the results (see aaltola & syrjälä 1999, Kuula 2000, heikkinen 2001).the first data collection analysis in the project provided a picture of the customers’ current status, key problems, and services used as well as their expectations in relation to the use of health and wellbeing technologies. data was collected from elderly customers and from experts.

4 action research results

Poor health and wellbeing

unsafety

• assessment of health and wellbeing• Personal health plan• check ups e.g. measurements• Personal healthfile• online guidelines and support

• safety plan at home• tailormade solutions• Voice based solutions e.g. alarms• lighting• online help• gPs location

Figure 4: the problems of an elderly person


in the planning stage of action research, the com-panies involved in the mhealth booster project and their products were selected to correspond to identified factors and problems that prevent living at home. Planning and design of the tech-nology development environments was based on practical expectations and requirements that arose in the material. content planning work for the physical technology development environ-ments provided by the partners began quickly. the technology development environments implemented were the technology demonstra-tion points at the soukka service centre and the demonstration point in conjunction with the existing health and wellbeing marketplace at ta-piola health center in espoo, and the demonstra-tion point and teknologialainaamo® tech nology library at tikkurila library in Vantaa. a mobile application for young people was implemented

in cooperation with the city of Vantaa’s Youth services. descriptions of the technology deve-lopment environments and their activities are presented in the following sub-sections.the health and wellbeing technology products, services and applications presented at the de-monstration points were sought and selected on the basis of content themes identified in the ma-terial. For example, the products selected for the technology development environment addres-sing the theme of loneliness provided a techno-logical solution for a video call service allowing contact between the customer, a family mem-ber, and a friend, by means of a user-centred and simple tablet solution. with regard to safety and security solutions, mention can be made of re-mote systems based on gPs trackers or new ge-neration training poles which provide resistance and promote moving.

Picture 1: technology development envrionmentsFigure 5: the problems of a family carer to an elderly person

Private caregiver’s

perspective

commitment, demanding work and situations at

home

• Safety solutions• Alarms• GPS locations

• Monitors• Remindeers• Online

online connections• to home• from home

• Health followups• Support & guidance

• Technological solutions e.g. sensors, online video

carer´s own role in working life

own health and wellbeing of the

carer

coping at homesupport for activi-ties of daily living

worries acute situations

at homethe meaning of

the time for the spouse

the carer self• Peer support• Help & guidance


home-like service centre section contains 22 flats. the number of visitors to the centre ranges from about 100 to 200 per day. a point suitable as a health and wellbeing techno-logy development environment was planned in cooperation with the city of espoo’s elderly care service house unit. an empty kiosk-type space in the entrance lobby to soukka service centre was selected as the technology demonstration point and coordination centre for activities. it was cal-led the health and wellbeing Kiosk. Planning and implementation had to consider the age of the building and its capacity for new technology. For example, in the beginning of the project the centre did not have wireless internet.the opening ceremony for the soukka health and wellbeing Kiosk was held on 21 January 2014. the event included a welcome speech from the city of espoo, an introduction to the available health and wellbeing technology solutions and the companies involved, and the exchange of ideas concerning the opportunities provided by the new activities and health and wellbeing te-chnology. the event gained media visibility on, for example, Yle radio suomi.after the opening ceremony, the health and

wellbeing Kiosk was open four days a week from 9 am to 3 pm on Mondays to thursdays. at the request of the service centre and its customers, a small café was also opened to accompany the technology presentation activities. the café was open from tuesdays to thursdays during spring 2014. laurea’s service business students were responsible for planning, implementation and running of the café.in February, soukka health and wellbeing Kiosk started the demo visits for the service centre’s own senior and daily activity groups. a variety of stakeholders – from representatives of organisa-tions to international visitor groups – also visited the environment. cooperation with the building staff and volunteers was fruitful and led to many new demo presentation visits. during the spring, the soukka service centre technology develop-ment environment was open from the opening ceremony in January 2014 until mid-June. in May 2014, customer recruiting began for user tests of devices that became available for the summer period. a total of 14 seniors were found via the soukka collaboration network, and pro-duct testing was implemented with them. all in all, 20 espoo seniors and significant others

Picture 2: health and wellbeing kiosk in soukka service centre

4.2 technology development environ-mentsthe mhealth booster project involved planning and implementing user-centred technology de-velopment environments where it was possib-le to test products and services with end users, companies and experts. in addition to being used for testing, all of the technology develop-ment environments served as places where staff and students who were working with customer groups could obtain training and guidance. the project’s technology development environments were located in tikkurila library in Vantaa, and in the soukka service centre and tapiola health center in espoo.

the technology development environments have been low-threshold demonstration points, where elderly people in the area, their signifi-cant others, industry professionals, and people of different ages could learn about and try out new health and wellbeing products and services under the guidance of trained persons. the ob-jective of the technology development environ-ments was to increase awareness of health and wellbeing technology, use electronic solutions to support health and wellbeing, and independent living at home for seniors and their significant others, and to promote user-centred product de-velopment of the technology companies. a fur-ther goal involved strengthening the customers’ self-care abilities and participation in enhancing their own health and wellbeing, and to support users with regard to developing and deepening their technology skills. People could try out and test the products independently or under gui-dance with the assistance of laurea uas students and project employees.

among others, the products presented in the technology development environ-ments came from the following areas of life:

• Housing safety and security• Functional ability, physical activity and nutrition• Health monitoring and selfcare• Communication and social health and well-being demonstration of the technologies offered in the technology development environments and gui-

dance was implemented as so-called low-thres-hold counselling. the objective of technology development environment counselling was to be as customer-oriented, unhurried and as easily ac-cessible as possible for the visitors. salmela and Matilainen (2007) emphasise that a key factor when counselling elderly people is to consider the person as an expert on his or her own life and their ability to take in information. the same ob-servations are also important when presenting the technologies and providing guidance. it has been a good idea to think about how to describe technologies in an understandable way and how much information to provide at one time. when providing information, it has also been useful to consider only the essential matters so that they don’t become confused with each other (see sal-mela & Matilainen 2007, 230–231).sintonen (2008) states that the ability of seniors to adopt new technologies varies according to factors like age and health. salmela and Mati-kainen continue by saying that counselling has to take individual needs and ways of providing guidance into account. since the trust of the el-derly is earned at the first meeting, the presenter should concentrate on this meeting in order to ensure successful counselling (salmela & Mati-lainen 2007, 230–231). listening to the custo-mers, understanding their needs and sufficient product information in the environments also makes it possible to have successful encounters and counselling sessions with different senior visitors. 4.2.1 soukka service centre (health and wellbeing kiosk)

the first technology development environment in espoo was established in the soukka service centre, which has good public transportation connections. the pleasant facilities at the cent-re provide possibilities for many types of activi-ty arranged by the city of espoo’s elderly care department, adult education centre, library, and sports and exercise departments, as well as pension organisations and private actors. Visitors to the centre can participate in group activities and structured physical activities, do handicrafts independently or in a group, and have lunch at the rinkeli lunch restaurant on weekdays. Many events, ranging from concerts and dances to va-rious health and wellbeing events, are also held at the centre (soukka service centre 2014). the


during spring 2014, the health and wellbeing Marketplace demonstration point was open from 8:30 am to 2:30 pm on Mondays to thurs-days. the point was closed from June until au-gust. since the health center visitor numbers were found to be highest first in the morning, a decision was made to open the health and well-being Marketplace one hour earlier in autumn 2014. From the beginning of september on, the environment was open four days a week from 8 am to 2 pm. in autumn 2014, laurea’s physio-therapy students were closely involved in health and wellbeing Marketplace activities, as they continued to present the technologies, run exer-cise sessions, and perform a variety of health and wellbeing measurements for visitors of different ages. groups ranging from a peer group for family ca-rers to the staff of an assistive device unit also visited the environment. a total of 69 demo visits and visits to different local events via presenta-tion activities took place in espoo. upon request, people also left the demonstration points and went to customers’ homes to talk about the pro-ducts and provide training in their use. a total of 14 home visits were made. the health and wellbeing Marketplace closed in november. all in all, more than 1,200 people visited the de-monstration point at the health and wellbeing Marketplace.in terms of the espoo technology development environments, the challenge was the unchanging nature of visitor base at soukka service centre and the difficulty in attracting busy customers at tapiola health center to the open market place-like demonstration point. on the other hand, the strengths were a diverse collaboration network, supplementary activities implemented by stu-dents at the points (e.g. structured physical acti-vity, café), and the formation of a rather extensive senior network.

4.2.3 teknologialainaamo®

tikkurila library has a fairly central location near the tikkurila train and bus station. in 2012, tikku-rila library had a total of 419,251 visitors, which is approximately 35,000 monthly. in 2013, the adult section of the library averaged some 19,000 visi-tors per month, while the music and media de-partments had nearly 5,000 monthly visitors. in terms of traffic, the library has been an excellent site for the technology library.

since 19 March 2013, tikkurila library has been the site of a demonstration point for helsinki city library’s ’tomorrow’s everyday life’ project. the demonstration point was an unstaffed, so-called cold presentation point, where various health and wellbeing products and applications were on display. it was a natural step to add techno-logy library activities to this demonstration point.the technology library was established at tikku-rila library because this also allowed utilisation of the library’s lending logistics competence. its activities were implemented in cooperation with the city of Vantaa’s services for the elderly and libraries department.the technology library opened officially and len-ding began at the end of February 2014, with activities continuing until mid-June. after the summer break, activities began at the beginning of september and continued until the end of no-vember. in the spring, the technology library was open every weekday so that staff was present from noon to 7 pm on Mondays and from noon to 5 pm from tuesdays to Fridays. the Friday ope-ning hours were shortened by two hours in late spring, because the number of library visitors clearly decreased towards the end of the week. in autumn, the opening hours were adjusted slight-ly based on experiences gained from activities in the spring. in autumn, the technology library was open from noon to 7 pm on Mondays and tues-days and from noon to 5 pm on wednesdays and thursdays. in the autumn the technology library was closed on Fridays. a key starting point for the technology library was the lending activities for products and relat-ed services implemented in cooperation with the tikkurila library. in practice, the lending and re-turn activities were handled by the library’s mu-sic and media department professionals, while the technology library staff was responsible for inspecting the returned devices and collecting feedback. laurea uas students from different disciplines worked together with the project staff to disseminate expertise related to the opera tion and the use of the devices. the students were also prepared to visit the borrowers’ homes if gui-dance in using the borrowed product was requi-red in the home environment. the technology library reached more than 1,500 people during the February–november period.

available for lending were Microlife blood pressure monitors, addoz medication clock, bungyPump training poles, a loc Finder safe-

were involved in the user study. after the sum-mer break, the health and wellbeing Kiosk re- opened on 1 september 2014. demo visits to va-rious events continued actively in the autumn. activities also went on the road with the library car Välkky and at the invention week held at sello library on a pilot basis. the health and wellbeing Kiosk closed its door at the end of november. it had more than 1,400 visitors.

4.2.2 health and wellbeing Marketplace at tapiola health center

espoo’s second technology development envi-ronment was the health and wellbeing Market-place at tapiola health center. the center is lo-cated beside the weegee exhibition centre in espoo, and has excellent transportation links. the health and wellbeing Marketplace is loca-ted in the light yard of the health centre, where since 2012 laurea’s physiotherapy students have

provided visitors of different ages and fitness levels with new ways of being physically active and managing their health. this was a natural environment for a health and wellbeing techno-logy demonstration point to support the exis-ting physical activity guidance. Planning of the technology development environment began in cooperation with experts from espoo’s health center unit.the opening ceremony for the health and well-being Marketplace was held at tapiola health center on 28 January 2014. Visitors learned about products and services to support safety and security, communications and social health and wellbeing, health monitoring and self- care, and functional ability and physical activities. Participants also had the opportunity to measure their grip strength and body composition at a health and wellbeing point set up by the phy-siotherapy students. a name competition for the Veloped outdoor walker was held in the spring by the product’s importer turvallinen Koti oy.

Picture 3: technology development environment in the health and wellbeing marketplace at tapiola health center


challenge was the fact that Vantaa is a large area and the elderly in particular do not go to the ot-her side of the city to visit different libraries. on the other hand, the strengths were successful cooperation with the library, which has provided a lot of new possibilities like lending activities, new marketing channels, and the chance to take the activities to the mobile library.

4.2.4 summary of technology develop-ment environment implementationthe project employees and it experts were responsible for practical activities in the espoo and Vantaa technology development envi-ronments. laurea uas students from different fields also played an important role in presen-tation activities at the technology develop-ment environments. all in all, more than 200 students worked in the technology develop-

ment environments and at senior events du-ring spring and autumn 2014. More than 400 students worked on the project in the period between september 2013 and september 2014.

Visitor statistics depending on the month, the visitor numbers for the technology development environments varied from a little less than 100 to more than 300. in total, the three technology develop-ment environments attracted more than 4,200 visitors while they were open. these figures do not include those who attended the demo visits. how ever, in terms of reaching customers and dis-seminating awareness, it was important to par-ticipate in different events and address groups. the following table (table 1) shows how visitor numbers are divided among the environments during different months.

ty telephone, innohome stove alarms, uemax magnification devices, Mobiluxled magnifiers, and samsung galaxy tab tablet computers. two versions of the tablets were available: de-vices that could only be used with the Pieni Piiri (circly) video call application, and devices that included several applications or websites, such as the celia library for the Visually impaired and Movendos health and wellbeing coaching ser-vice. there was a break in lending activities from June to august. based on the number of loans, the most popular product was the blood pres-sure monitor (54 loans), followed by the tablet computer (19 loans), and the led magnifier (12 loans). the stove alarms and digital magnifica-tion devices were also borrowed more than 10 times. two products (the medication clock and training poles) only became available in the final phase, but the training poles in particular were requested many times prior to that.in addition to the technology presentation point in tikkurila library, the technology library was

introduced around the city of Vantaa in pop up events and senior events. six such events were arranged during the spring. the activities really got started in the autumn, and a total of 24 events were held during that period. these events were arranged at meetings of senior as-sociations, at city of Vantaa day group activi-ties, and at evenings for family carers, or senior groups run by the city. along with these events, seven groups visited the technology library at tikkurila library. activities were taken to other Vantaa libraries during the autumn, with nursing students arranging 14 small-scale pop up events at libraries around the city. the products were also presented in tikkurila library’s two mobile libraries. a total of eight mobile library trips were made during the autumn. the challenges of the technology library were the location of the demonstration point in the immediate vicinity of the library’s periodicals room, and the fact that the visitors were, to a certain extent, usually the same people. an other

Picture 4: technology library in tikkurila library

Month soukka tapiola tikkurila

January 197 239

February 145 129 138

March 204 150 284

april 192 176 313

May 177 161 240

June (until 19.6.) 65 114

september 140 134 156

october 168 118 175

november 150 148 141

total 1438 1255 1 561

1 table 1: Visitor statistics in the espoo and Vantaa technology development environments


information about the user, his or her activities in the usage environment, and information about the details of product or service usage. informa-tion about usability research is analysed, utili-sed, and it can be illustrated using models and prototypes. information that has already been published is also sought when collecting and or-ganising user information (hyysalo 2006).the mhealth booster project applied a user stu-dy when examining products and services that utilise health and wellbeing technology in the technology development environments, and in home environments. during this process, the information providers and actors were both cus-tomers (n=75) and experts as individuals (n=21) and as groups (n=5). user experiences were exa-mined through case research. different data col-lection methods were used to obtain user expe-riences from the elderly, their significant others, and experts with regard to health and wellbeing technology products. the initial interviews were conducted as individual interviews and group in-terviews. written product feedback (n=153) was collected from people who had, either alone or in a group, become familiar with the technology development environment activities and pro-ducts.Furthermore, the project demonstration points were closed during the summer, and at that time the presentation devices were available for longer-term user tests. the product testers were elderly people (n=21). the testers were in-terviewed as individuals and in pairs. during the testing, they were asked to keep a diary about their experiences. the tested products were se-lected to correspond to the themes identified from the material, which were loneliness, safety and security, health and wellbeing, self-care, and physical activity. ten different technology pro-ducts were tested. social interaction and com-munication products were tested by means of a program installed on a tablet computer, trai-ning poles that used resistance were selected to promote movement, a medication clock and vital signs monitoring system installed on the bed were tested for self-care, as well as trackers used to increase safety and security. the testing period averaged eight weeks. analysis of the feedback mainly focused on product usability and operation, which corresponded to hyysalo’s (2006) worlds of functionality and product. the participants in product testing examined and provided feedback on product use in everyday situations, social interaction and product func-

tionality, their strengths and weaknesses, and made development proposals.

Factors that promoted or prevented the use of health and wellbeing technology were extracted from the material and classified. based on product testing, feed back and assessment, the following factors promoted use:

• A sense of security• Ease of use• Successful product design• A feature that enhanced health and wellbeing

the sense of security increased in everyday si-tuations where, for example, a safety wristband was tested. important factors during implemen-tation of the safety wristband were instruction and guidance, during which the customer’s questions were answered and resolved on an individual basis. in this case, the elderly person’s interest in and, in particular, commitment to product testing contributed to increasing safety and security. a safety wristband even seemed to in crease dependence on the product. the follo-wing comments were made by an elderly person with alzheimer’s disease and his/her significant other concerning the safety wristband test and its importance in everyday life.

”i could say that for me....of course, it’s not very nice to only consider things from my own perspective, but in any

case, it’s mostly peace of mind....concerning whether he’ll go somewhere or just disappear from home...”

”it’s probably easy to use because...the device only has two buttons, one to see the clock and the other to make this emergency call. For the user, it’s ...let’s say that a single button...or in the future it would be one button...but in this case two buttons is already pretty good...”

the ease of use and simplicity of the product were factors that clearly promoted introduc-tion of the technology. in this case, instruction, guidance and planning both in the technology development environment and in the elderly person’s home increased satisfaction with the Picture 5: Products in technology development environment

4.3 user tests from the perspective of the elderly

health and wellbeing technology products, ser-vices and applications developed by selected companies were utilised during planning and implementation of the technology development environments. the products and services were chosen on the basis of content themes identi-fied from the material. For example, the products selected for the theme of loneliness provide an online video link for interaction between the customer and significant other. an existing, easy-to-use tablet solution and program suitable for the activities were used as the product. remote systems based on gPs trackers were selected to enhance safety and security. a new type of trai-ning poles that provide resistance were selected to increase motivation to be physically active and maintain muscle strength. a vital signs monito-ring system installed on the bed and a new kind of blood pressure monitor were used for health monitoring (Photo 2). the selected products made it possible for elderly customers, their sig-nificant others and experts to become familiar with and test new health and wellbeing techno-logy products and solutions, and to update their technological competence. From the company

standpoint, the technology development envi-ronments offered a meeting point for the com-panies’ products, and for dialogue and develop-ment between the customers and experts. the user study emphasised the systematic exami-nation and refining of personal experience and user’s participation in the product development process. user information refers to information obtained about the user experience of a single user or group, the features, properties, forms and aesthetics of a product or service. the situation, relationship with other people or items, and ear-lier experiences also make it possible to obtain user information for research and product deve-lopment (hyysalo 2006; 2009).user information is traditionally examined via the experiences, visions and assumptions of the planners. today, participative cooperation is in-creasingly done with the actual users, in which case new ideas are created in a joint process. Qualitative research methods are often applied in a user study. in addition to traditional indi-vidual and group interviews, observation and participatory observation, data can be collected by means of descriptions, stories, videotaping, photo graphs, and drawings. in a user study, ob-servation means monitoring the user’s activities in his or her own environment, which provides


the product. Feedback and assessments about the product indicated that the training poles were already practical and beneficial. Positive feedback about this product to promote physi-cal movement mentioned that the product was pleasant to use, provided motivation for move-ment, and was easy to use.elderly people showed a great deal of interest in using the video call service intended for social interaction. the video link and related service, and a music-related product and service were the best match for the loneliness problems of the elderly. the product was characterised by its usability, versatility and applicability – not only for maintaining contact but also for identifying the elderly person’s health concerns. based on the experiences of test subjects, use of an online link and video call is very suitable for maintai-ning contact with, monitoring, and reminding an elderly person who lives alone. the interest of elderly people in the online video phone and activation to use it was focused on the main pro-duct function, such as a group call. on the other hand, other functions or services made possible by the product were utilised to a lesser degree. a solution related to saving and using reminders also inspired interest. the essential elements in the introduction of these products were ease of use, smooth functions, simple technology, and a customer-friendly price.

”Project employees installed the vi-deo call service on the tablets of two women of different ages in early sum-

mer 2014. the aim was to increase and facilitate weekly communication and interaction between these friends. after some instruction, the women practised making video calls to each other. the younger woman, seija (all names changed) was attending a summer party with her husband when she received a video call from her older friend irja who was at home. she had tried to call several times during the afternoon. once the call came through, seija soon noticed that irja was not well. although the video connection opened, her friend couldn’t speak. seija became concern-ed and tried to call irja a few times on her mobile phone, but there was no answer. seija told paramedics who were at the party what she had seen during the video call and they advised her and her husband to pay irja a visit immediately. their suspicions were confirmed when they reached irja’s home. the older friend said that she felt strange and, for example, was

unable to answer her mobile phone. an ambu-lance was called and to take irja to first aid at the hospital. according to seija, they were very lucky to have the video call service as she would not have been able to detect her friend’s condition without it. this has demonstrated that the device works and that a video link is actually very useful.”

”this is a big challenge and very im-portant. My mother-in-law likes to go to the cottage alone and also into the

forest, and we never know what might happen. i can remember many times when we drove 200 kilometres to check on her and the situation....a security phone connection would have made things easier.”

in some testing cases, the product did not meet expectations, but at the same time testers be-came interested in and acquired another safe-ty-enhancing product. customers and experts were particularly interested in products and solutions that enhance home or personal safety and security.the fourth large theme was weakened or deterio-rating health, health and wellbeing, and fitness. assessment of the products and services in this content category requires longer testing and trials. For example, the mhealth booster project tested a new type of blood pressure monitor that collected information, and a monitoring system installed on the bed. both products attracted a lot of interest and desire to purchase for the home environment. one of the products was tested for nearly four months with an elderly person living at a service house, so that the family members were responsible for the monitoring information and responding to it. the product worked well functionally and met the targets. however, in many ways the trials and testing demonstrated the challenges and even problems associated with the product, as testing was carried out in a service house setting and the monitoring in-formation was sent to the family members. the roles of the family members in monitoring and on the other hand the responsibility of the ser-vice house staff were unclear. all in all, the testing process raised several ethical questions.

4.3.2 summary of product testing

the physical safety and security of the home, an elderly person’s independent and spontaneous

product. the availability of technical support was an important factor in product implementation. successful product design and appearance had a positive impact on product use in everyday si-tuations. For example, product size and design, and its functional integration reinforced accep-tance of the product as part of an elderly per-son’s everyday life and active use. the fact that the product is self-directed and learns things about its user’s behaviour and profile reinforced the success of user-centred design. a product to support self-care, such as a new blood pressure monitor and its alarm function was perceived as a factor that increases safety and security. with regard to products that reduce loneliness or en-hance safety and security, increasing interaction, the possibility for movement and reduced de-pendence on other people enhanced health and wellbeing to a certain extent.

the factors that prevented use were:

• Difficult to use product functions • Insufficient product support • High price• Incomplete nature of the product

complicated features or features that interfered with product functionality, such as buttons that were too small, prevented or hindered use of a technology product. insufficient instruction, gui-dance, support and maintenance were factors that had a negative impact on product introduc-tion, motivation, and commitment. similarly, a functional lack of clarity, fault situation, failure to work, or product size can prevent product use in the initial phase.as a factor preventing usage, high price was for some products a greater barrier than the actual benefits of the product. in the case of some products, the service, for example, reception of alarms, and the related further measures, were either found to be deficient, were not available to private persons at all, or the integrated service was too expensive.

4.3.1 results of user tests

an elderly person’s lack of safety and security, and the related products and solutions were the big-gest challenge throughout the project processes. the physical safety and security of the home, an elderly person’s independent and spontaneous

movement, and the sense of over all security were the greatest challenges. Various reminder functions and alarms play a major role when integrating safety and security, and health and wellbeing technology. safety-related products were found to be useful, for example, to facili-tate moving outside the home due to the alarm features of the product. in some cases, tech nical failures or design-related factors such as buttons that were too small or the size of the product were weaknesses in these products, leading to the perception that product-related technical support and guidance was insufficient. the ma-jority of feedback focused on areas like tracking, or were associated with implementation of a cer-tain function, such as medicinal treatment. the gPs trackers and related products and services attracted the interest of the elderly people and their significant others. with regard to safety and security, two different products based on gPs tracking were tested during the project.

”i thought the size was good...not too big...not too heavy...and it was made of a material that was easy to hold on to...”

”well, the fact that it doesn’t have...you don’t have to press little letters and numbers separa-tely and it’s probably enough to have these four...were there four or five options but of course it’s important to have the card with you to know which number to use.”

with regard to the immobility of elderly people, the following themes were iden-tified from the material:

• maintaining and improving balance and muscle strength• repetitive everyday physical activity• individual guidance and motivation• activating exercise programmes

the interview subjects requested planning and implementation of new types of digital guides. large info boards and television screens would make it possible to introduce online bulletins and guides and interactive programmes. For example, the training poles that utilised resis-tance were considered outstanding in nearly all of the feedback. customers who tested the poles over a longer period of time provided the least number of development proposals concerning


Product grouP Products Feedback

saFetY Products tracking safety buttonsafety wristbandsecurity phonegPs locators

the best feedback related to design suggestions for improvemente.g. size and symbols

Products For social contact

video phonemusical gamesrecollection and life story service

positive feedback related to usability and contactingmost interests for further development

hoMe securitY stove guardstove alarm

the most useful productaffordable securitygreatest desire to buy

Products ProMoting MoVing

walking poles with built-in suspension systemoutdoor walker

motivates to move

improves availability

health and wellbeingMonitoring deVices

blood pressure monitor with detection of atrial fibrillationvital signs monitoring systemmedication clock with remin-der

products are ready in use need for security service need for longer testinglarge size,unfunctioning sections

2table 2: summary of user-tested products, assessment and feedback

based on an analysis of the material, the following themes were produced: ethical questions, guidance and advice, and challenges. (Figure 6)

the expert’s competence was mainly analysed in relation to technology. technology competence inclu-des an understanding of technology and awareness of technology products, and the need for and neces-sity of new types of services. technology awareness comprises the supply, availability and applicability of health and wellbeing technology products for customer use in different operating environments, the expert’s own use, and for the change in work and activities. in terms of content, the assessment emphasised awareness and understanding of technology and its applicability even to the extent of lacking competence or need to update the competence. the opportunities that health and wellbeing technology products provide for developing work and activities were combined with service planning and production.

movement, and the sense of overall security were important factors in terms of safety and security. Products and solutions related to an elderly per-son’s safety and security proved to be important and interesting in terms of everyday functional ability and living at home. Various reminder func-tions and alarms play a major role when integra-ting safety and security, and health and wellbeing technology. gPs-based products and the related services proved to be important to the elderly person and to their significant others. the majo-rity of the questions answered in the technology development environments concerned safety and security matters and safety-related plans, and associated products were mapped out on an individual basis. Various experts, such as me-mory counsellors and professionals who provide guidance on assistive devices were particularly interested in health and wellbeing technology products, and especially about in the services to enhance safety and security.according to both customers and experts, the communal solutions that the online video call service and software for maintaining and pro-moting social relationships made possible were the most interesting solutions and attracted the most attention.when summarising the product testing, it can be said that the elderly people involved in the user study are active and enthusiastic product tes-ters, as well as honest and open when providing feedback. they are intensely committed to the testing. Feedback on the product assessments focused on usability, functionality and technical features, and also on product and service inte-gration.

4.4 assessment results from the perspec-tive of experts

experts from different fields and with different job descriptions took part in the different stages of action research during the mhealth booster project. the experts were involved in initial map-ping, in assessment as the project progressed, and in the final assessment. the experts played an important role in implementing and develo-ping project activities. the role of the customers, understanding their voice and challenges, availa-bility and targeting of the health and wellbeing technology products, services and applications, and assessment of the expectations presented by the experts and competence were key content areas in the experts’ material.


4.5 health and wellbeing technology to support young people in managing every day life

external life management includes social back-ground, in other words, the importance of family in a young person’s life, coping with school, and a status in the labour market. Factors that are part of internal life management include young person’s self-concept, which, when negative, can cause repetitive feelings of failure and poor self-esteem. negative experiences and accumu-lating problems that progress in stages and are related to external and internal life management areas affect a person throughout their lives, and can lead to social exclusion. the most integral part of a person is their sociability, which defines that person’s significance in the eyes of others, and through them. Various social links, such as work, education, family, and friends play a key role in relation to the process of integrating young people into society. the social support provided can promote the health and wellbeing of young people, commit them to activities, reinforce their resources, identify their strengths, provide the chance to be heard, and help them build a tailored with regard to making choices in life (Veivo & Vilppola 1998, 47, 52–53).Paju and Vehviläinen (2001, 68–71) state that nearly all solutions for exclusion problems are associated with life management. according to roos (1987), young people have to learn the very basic skills as methods of life management if they did not obtain them at home. Problems with life management occur when a young person does not have the patience to remain at school or work, or he/she does not have the discipline needed to adjust payment capacity to income. issues related to how a young person copes with everyday life, such as daily rhythm and time ma-nagement, financial management, and nutrition, health, hygiene and tidiness are concrete mat-ters related to external life management. some young people have life management challenges in several areas of life, while others only need guidance regarding only one or a few matters.life management is a concept in which one of the extremes can be seen as social exclusion. ac-cording to helne and Karisto (1992), social exclu-sion is a concept that brings together different social problems. according to sipilä (1982), social exclusion refers to weak bonds between an indi-vidual and the society. social exclusion should above all be viewed as a process that moves from

life management towards exclusion (aaltonen, ojanen, Vihunen & Vilén 2007, 360–362).Preventing a young person from becoming socially excluded is a matter of encouraging a young person towards a life based on indepen-dent and full social participation. the functionali-ty of basic social services and sufficiency of social support systems are key factors in minimising the risks of exclusion (Kuorelahti & Viitanen 1999, 5). 4.5.1 Premises and process of the nuor-ten kaupunki (Young People’s city) pro-ject

the second technology development environ-ment of mhealth booster project in the city of Vantaa was laurea’s multidisciplinary Young People’s city project (2012–), which develops new operating methods for supporting impor-tant transition phases for children and young people. the target group is young people who need help promoting their health and wellbeing and skills to cope with everyday life. the pilot involved cooperation with mobile application companies to implement a mobile service con-cept that takes into account the needs, life situa-tion and thoughts of young people. the aim in the development environment was to create a service package of different applications. Young people and employees from the city of Vantaa Youth services unit were involved in the piloting development process. development of the mo-bile applications and services was handled by the companies involved, which provided mental health and wellbeing exercises, musical puzzles, a treasure hunt to promote physical activity, and a health and wellbeing coaching in the form of internet and mobile application services. (Figure 7)according to the phases of action research, the Young People’s city project collected user-cent-red experiences throughout the project deve-lopment process by means of interviews and questionnaires. a total of 13 focus groups were held for three groups of young people, for their youth workers, and for companies from decem-ber 2013 to october 2014. all in all, 38 young people, 11 youth workers and 4 company rep-resentatives took part in the focus groups. du-ring the initial phase, initial interviews were conducted for the participants by focus group and information collected from young people (n=15) and youth workers (n=8) by means of a

health and wellbeing technology in the use for further development

competenceawarenessunderstanding

technology development environmentlocation and mobility

ethical and legal issuessensitivityinformed consent

guidance and counselingindividualisationPhasing

health and well-being technology challenges both users and experts

the material clearly indicated that an expert’s interest, desire and enthusiasm to learn new things were promoting factors. however, this requires concrete possibilities – in terms of money and time – to test and use health and wellbeing technology as part of the person’s work and its development. an expert’s attitude, aversion to technology, and fear of failure were classified as preventive factors. the facts that health and wellbeing technology products are on display, and are easily accessible and available for testing near a person’s work environment enable use of the technology. during the mhealth booster project, the location of the technology development environments near the customers was considered important and necessary, allowing the technology development environments to serve as product showrooms and demonstration points. however, presenting and testing health and wellbeing techno-logy products in a way that provides opportunities also requires mobile services, such as mobile library activities.the support and use of health and wellbeing technology products and services for different customer groups brings up ethical and legal questions, especially in the social and health care field. the experts’ material emphasised the position and role of the expert or professional in relation to technology pro-ducts and their use. there is a strong emphasis on the experts’ professional responsibility. the vulnera-bility and sensitivity of different customer groups were at the core. the benefit of health and wellbeing technology was examined with regard to the position and role of the customer and/or significant other, mainly private customers, in a home environment.as an activity, guidance and advice in the context of technology products and services means develo-ping a new way of working and operating. Planning individual and tailored solutions with the customer and significant other, technology supplier, and various experts requires the division of guidance and advice into phases, and a comprehensive understanding of the customer’s life situation. in this case, assessment of the customer’s situation should also include assessment of the need for technology and planning as part of planning the overall care process.

Figure 6: experts’ assessment results concerning the project


for all target groups were held in september–october to collect user experiences regarding testing of the different applications and services, and the whole development process. the assessment ma-terial for the young people, youth workers and companies in the Young People’s city project was: 1) initial focus group interviews and the initial questionnaire from the pre-information forms, and 2) final focus group interviews and a feedback survey to map user experiences.

4.5.2 results from the perspective of the young

a total of fifteen young people (n=15) participa ted in the young people’s focus groups. in terms of family background, the majority of the young belonged to a core family. with regard to education, the young were attending or had comple ted comprehensive school, and two of them were in general upper secon-dary/vocational education. with regard to studies or work in their current life situation, the young men-mhb

mobile application

pilot

Young People´s city –project

(laurea uas)

“Young person – influencer in his/hers own life - actor in the

community” - project (city of Vantaa)

mhealth booster

(laurea uas)

Youth guidance and support

center (city of Vantaa)

questionnaire. the young commented on their opinions of their own health status, need for ser-vices and expectations of health and wellbeing technology services, while the youth workers assessed the health status of the young people, service needs, and expectations of health and wellbeing technology services from the em-ployee perspective. based on the results of the initial phase, cooperation with companies began with the building of a package of internet and mobile applications and services. together with their counsellors, the young had the opportunity to test a range of games and applications designed to promote health and wellbeing in everyday life. one of the applica-tions selected for test use was a treasure hunt that encouraged the young to be active outdoors in the form of a good-natured competition with their group. the goal was to find virtual treasures hidden in the local area to score points, and to

collect virtual currency in the game. a musical puzzle designed to support communal activities gave the youngsters the opportunity to flex their memory muscles and practice musical and so-cial skills. the health and wellbeing programme intro duced the young and their counsellors to mind relaxation exercises designed to re lieve stress, improve mood, and revitalise life. in a health and wellbeing coaching session, group counsellors acted as coaches, using the online application to give the young tasks which were tailored to their personal circumstances and de-signed to promote life management and health and well being skills.use of mobile applications and services was atmed at encouring the young to be indepen-dent and active and to offer the youth workers new health and wellbeing technology ser-vices for their work. the testing phase lasted from May to october 2014. the final interviews

Figure 7: Piloting of internet and mobile applications and services

october 2013 - october 2014 -->

aPril MaY June JulY august sePteMber october noVeMber deceMber

Focus grouPs (n= 13)

the Young

the eMPloYees

entrePreneurs

interviews

survey

rePorting

interMediate seMinar (June)

closing seMinar (december)

user exPeriences

testing oF

aPPlications

acQuisition

oF deVices

aPPlication

design and

construction

Figure 8: development process for young people’s mobile application pilot


the young also found a tested musical puzzle, which involved recognising a song in a quiz or actually playing it, to be a refreshing change in group activities. the development proposals made by the young regarding the music game suggested more of their type of music (pop, rock, rap, etc.), and the possibility to use their favourite music to build a quiz or puzzle with other group members.

”the music game was fun.” (Young person 7)

”the music game was good for developing me-mory and a musical ear.” (Young person 8)

4.5.3 results from the perspective of youth workerseight youth workers (n=8) took part in the focus groups. in terms of education, the youth workers had a vocational / general secondary school dip-lomat (4), a bachelor’s degree (3) and a master’s degree (1). the job titles / positions mentioned were special youth worker, youth counsellor, pro-ject manager, project employee, project emplo-yee/counsellor, and nurse.during the initial interviews, the youth workers presented experiences of a customer group’s health and wellbeing, which illustrated the dif-ferent challenges faced by the young. the young who went to the youth centre were mainly well off, but they were subject to accumulating con-cerns about studies, work, relationships, ap-pearance, personality, intoxicants, and risk be-haviour. one of the challenges was considered to be that so-called ”grey area young” that as a target group remained outside the services, were often those who needed the most help and were most difficult to reach. Young people’s health was seen as reasonably good, but gender-spe-cific differences were identified. loneliness and the need for the support of an adult appeared as challenges with regard to creating social rela-tionships. coping with everyday tasks, restoring a normal sleep rhythm, and breaking a gaming cycle were seen as key challenges for the young. the youth workers’ views of a customer’s in-dependent coping and need for support were similar for all the interviewed. Parents, various authorities (social and health care services, child protection, youth services) and bodies were seen

as strong support networks for the young. the youth workers hoped to see closer cooperation between different sectors. the need for sup-port persons was highlighted, and the support offered should focus more on transition phases when the young person moves from elementary to middle school.challenges to maintaining contact were conside-red to be the youth workers’ busy schedule and growing numbers of customers, which led to a feeling of in adequacy among employees. one of the challenges in communication was seen at the frequently changing phone numbers of the young.the youth workers used many services offered by the municipality and third sector. among others, the following were mentioned in the answers: so-cial, health care and youth services, child protec-tion services, housing services, crisis emergency support, school psychologist services, Kela, te offices, schools, clubs offering recreational activi-ties, the police, parish, youth centre, irti huumeis-ta ry (Free from drugs). the youth workers also highlighted finding information quickly and con-tinuous updating of information as important to-pics. a particular characteristic was the fact that the young have a lot of networks, with a single young person having as many as eight different authorities present in his/her life. the common expectations and hopes for services emphasised coordinated case management service, the tran-sfer of mutual information, and combining the informa tion systems of different authorities so that all the bodies involved in a young person’s support networks could have access to the same information and opportunities to help. one pro-posal presented involved creating open online profiles for each young person, which would al-low all of the network actors to help and support an individual young person in real time and on a needs-oriented manner.the challenge for the young is often the fact that they need a lot of support with managing every-day life, and they are still practising how to orga-nise everyday tasks by themselves. technology applications and online portals could be used as an electronic calendar working on the pho-ne, which would use reminders to communicate about progress in everyday tasks. the youth wor-kers have a concrete need for a coaching service to promote young people’s health and wellbeing and coping with everyday tasks. this would ac-tivate and motivate and commit the young to responsible behaviour.

tioned having a summer job, studying at a vo-cational college, being unemployed, or starting in trial work. the young perceived their health as good, and several reported that they had no motivation with regard to studying.in the initial interviews, the young described their perception of personal health and well-being, with physical health falling somewhere on some variation of the ”ok – reasonable – excel-lent” scale. Psychological health was viewed as reasonable. the young felt that their social rela-tionships also varied, the majority of them had friends while a few didn’t really have friends at all.the young believed that their independent coping and need for support were met by the support offered by their parents and the indivi-dual or group guidance available at the Youth guidance and support centres. in terms of the services they required, the young indicated that they use online portals and guides in addition to personal guidance. they considered easy access, location, speed, and ease of use to be important criteria when using a service. challenges rela ted to meetings and contact between the young and their significant others occurred in con-junction with subscription changes (prepaid). another challenge was the difficulty in finding correct and reliable information on the internet. the young were critical in a positive way about information available on the internet. a few of them presen ted the opinion that online services can contri bute to exclusion. the fact that the young needed a sense of community and valued the importance of face-to-face encounters was highlighted. the young made very diverse use of internet services, either for using online services or for informa tion acquisition. social media and online gaming were also in active use. on the ot-her hand, a few of the young reported that they do not use electronic communications channels or services at all, and would rather handle their business with the service provider in person. different services that were mentioned inclu-ded online portals and guides (on the topics of stu dies, everyday management, living, basic services), asumisen abc (the abc of housing), online banks, films, tV series, wikipedia, libra-ry, ebay, Karttapallo application, last.fm, e-mail, Kela, helpnetti application, Youtube, google, etc.the final interviews of the young provided a lot of information about their experiences of the mhealth booster project and the product tests. the young considered it positive that they were given the opportunity to participate in a project

to develop health and wellbeing technology ser-vices and applications, that especially wanted to hear about the opinions, experiences, thoughts and requests of young people concerning on what would be a functional option from their viewpoint.

”i think it’s nice that our opinions are ta-ken into account.” (Young person 1)

in the product testing, the young tested a trea-sure hunt, which received a lot of positive com-ments. they also provided development pro-posals concerning the game’s technical solutions and visual look. the fact that the game was in english was considered to be a good motivating factor for playing. the young wanted the points awarded for finding the treasure to be available in some other format, such as a concrete prize. good-natured competition against each other was considered fun. it was enjoyable to play with or against their own counsellors, which contri-buted to building a sense of community in the group.

”the dart was impossible to control, but otherwise it was a really easy treasure hunt, quite fun.” (Young person 3)

”the treasure hunt is a good way to get children and young people moving!” (Young person 4)

also a relaxation exercise application was test-ed. the relaxation exercises were very popular among the young, with the applicable elements remaining a part of permanent group activities.

”the relaxation exercise felt pretty cool.” (Young person 2)

the young also tried a health and wellbeing coaching application, in which they were given tasks related to their personal circumstances ac-cording to the group activity themes. the young provided feed back on the tasks in writing or by attaching photos. they considered commenting by means of photos to be the best method. the coaching was considered a useful channel for ob-taining information. the program was perceived as easy to use.

”the health and wellbeing coaching pro-vided useful information and it was easy to use the program.” (Young person 5)


ting. using games to support communal activi-ties would be a great thing.” (Youth worker 7)

”the relaxation exercises were good. we got a good tool. the treasure hunt was a fine way to get people moving, i got hooked. the musical games were a great way to spend time.” (Youth worker 8)

4.5.4 conclusions, good practises and ideas for further developmentthe basis for the project was to build an inter-net and mobile service package to promote the health and wellbeing and life management of young people by means of a user-centred de-velopment process in cooperation with young people, youth workers and the companies invol-ved (Figure 9). the aim in the technology deve-lopment environment was to take the needs, life situation and thoughts of the young into consi-deration, and to provide the youth services em-ployees with a service package of applications

that would allow them to provide multifaceted and interactive support for the young as they cope with everyday life. initial interviews map-ped the health and wellbeing level of the young and the youth workers and their expectations. based on this information, four companies colla-borated to build services and applications that promote health and wellbeing for product tes-ting with the young and the youth workers.the entrepreneurs and the youth workers took part in a joint final interview, which reviewed individual development proposals for all the applications included in the project and collec-ted feedback. the experiences were positive but more time, technical support and a more inter-active communications channel are needed for implementing, learning about, and testing the applications. some of the applications became established as part of the group activities pro-gramme. if the required devices, applications and programs would be integrated into youth work, they would provide added value to the existing work methods and communications channels. a

the results of the final employee interviews con-cerning product testing were rich and provided a lot of perspectives. the pilot was considered good because it enabled the development of various health and wellbeing technologies. in particular, the applications could be beneficial to young people with no previous work expe-rience or vocational education. cooperation with the youth workers is important, because they understand the needs of the young involved in group and workshop activities.in the feedback of the application tests, some of the respondents found the training provided before testing to be sufficient and very benefi-cial, while others would have liked more detailed training. on the other hand, the youth workers mentioned that in a longer testing period the operations would have resulted in a more fun-ctional package. the functional elements were considered to be the visual look of the health and wellbeing coaching, in which the possibility for young people to comment by means of photos proved to be a very good option.

”i thought it was great that we could give feedback on health and wellbeing coach-ing in this photo format. it doesn’t always

have to be in writing.” (Youth worker 1)

”the visual look for health and wellbeing coach-ing was functional and commenting with photos was a good idea.” (Youth worker 2)

as a development proposal, the youth wor-kers suggested that the usability of the coach-ing would improve if sMs message remin-ders were in use. in order to achieve ideal use of the coaching, the program should be used by a young person who is already motivat-ed and who has an existing guidance contact. the coaching could also be most success-ful with girls over the age of 17. all in all, the coaching was seen as a good tool for investigati-ve youth work and/or special youth work for lon-ger-term guidance contacts, school health care, and possibly for school psychologist work.

”i see the coaching as a preventive measu-re if it’s being considered for school health care and student health care, when medi-

cal examinations are being performed and reveal some challenges.” (Youth worker 5)

”health and wellbeing coaching would be a good tool for investigative youth work, longer-term

guidance contacts in special youth work, school psychologist work.” (Youth worker 2)

the relaxation exercises were implemented and will be used in the future as well, and tailored to the group. the relaxation segment was consi-dered particularly useful, and the young people were very committed to these exercises. the youth workers were delighted to have obtained such a useful tool.

”the relaxation exercises were tried and have remained a part of our group activi-ties.” (Youth worker 4)

the treasure hunt was considered an excellent way of activating young people to get exer cise. a few of the youth workers reported that they also got ”hooked” on the game during testing. the gaming and good-natured competition that took place as part of group activities increased group spirit and the sense of community.

”i somehow thought that the competition in the treasure hunt seemed like a kind of communal thing.” (Youth worker 2)

”well, personally i liked the treasure hunt a lot! it was really fun and we got to hide the treasures ourselves too.” (Youth worker 3)

the youth workers also considered the musical quizzes interesting but wanted to see music that was more suitable for young people, and more diverse. the idea of supporting communal acti-vities through musical games was considered a great idea if the range of music genres is expan-ded in the future. at best, it was seen as supple-menting group activities, with the emphasis on providing the young with a pleasant alternative way of spending time.

”the musical puzzles and treasure hunt have a social and group-bonding effect and they are easy to implement. on the

other hand, the health and wellbeing coaching requires more in-depth knowledge of the young person. now we have two different tools and it’s good to have both.” (Youth worker 5)

”we tried out the relaxation exercises and will certainly tailor them for the group and use them in the future as well. the treasure hunt was great activation for the young and supported commu-nal activities. the musical games were interes-

support and guidance from the couch-> face-to-face support

tailor made for the young

Motivatesactivates

increase in physical, mental and social wellbeing

responsibilityindependent life management

communication and cooperation between authorities easier

approachable, fun, affordable, and good quality services

health and wellbeing technology solutions and services

Premises employees

towards the aims

Young person

Figure 9: expectations of young people´s mobile application pilot


pro-development attitude and more time would also be needed for developing the youth work and the technology solutions.in the opinion of entrepreneurs, the mhealth booster project was a good way to open up dia-logue with the target group and operators in the field. the entrepreneurs felt a strong need to do some good with their inventions, and to obtain real feedback on them. they saw being able to tailor their own product for the young people’s target group as a reason to get involved. the user experiences collected from the young and the youth workers were necessary for developing their products. however, all of the companies in-volved were small start-ups, with limited resour-ces to get involved. the fact that they could not test the service in the ideal manner with the young people was perceived as a challenge.the development proposals made by the entre-preneurs mentioned that discussion between the user groups and entrepreneurs should be improved in the future. thus development work would progress in the desired direction. the entre preneurs would also have liked closer cooperation with project actors, process specifi-cation and, especially, written feedback. during the project, the entrepreneurs made good con-tacts, for example, with other service providers and consultants. they intended to produce ser-vices together in the future as well. the entrepre-neurs began immediately work on the develop-ment proposals and will inform end users of the changes made for future use.all in all, the presentation and testing of new and different services and applications with new customer groups can be highlighted as a good practice arising from the project. during the development process, the customer groups receive important information and experience, but the companies also obtain feedback and the chance to develop the product for a new custo-mer group. ideas for further development could be the development of a ”calendar application”, longer testing of the applications, and research on their longer term impacts. the youth workers

would like to have technology tools that support a sense of community, and which would improve the possibilities for interaction and impact.the young felt strongly that their opinions had meaning and they considered it important to be included in these kinds of projects. Playing together was perceived as a factor that builds a sense of community. at best, online gaming can be a social activity, offering opportunities to join communities and meet new people (Kojo 2011, 40–41).when asked about their interest in taking the pi-lot to the next stage, all of the young and youth workers showed enthusiasm. when the deve-lopment proposals were taken into account, all of the four applications that were tested were seen as very promising tools and work methods in the future as well, supporting the work being done to promote the health and wellbeing and life management of young people. all of the par-ticipants felt that there was a call and need for further development ideas.

5.1 Mapping the competence and la-bour needs of companies

laurea uas business management students Min-na-Maria Mäkäräinen and erika tarvainen carried out a survey of the companies’ competence and labour needs as part of the mhealth booster pro-ject. the survey primarily collected information about the type of additional competence and labour needed by companies in the health and wellbeing technology sector. the companies’ in-terest in expanding their networks and opinions about which kind of training events would best suit them were also surveyed. information was also collected about the companies’ products and activities in order to obtain sufficient back-ground information. the survey was carried out

in the form of phone interviews in winter 2014.a total of 35 companies that offer health and wellbeing technology products and related ser-vices participated in the survey. this group also included companies offering care services. the objective of the mapping process was to compi-le information about the needs of companies in the health and wellbeing technology and care sector in order to offer them properly targeted training and other events, for example, to recruit ict professionals.

Main results

based on the results, introduction and actual use of the products in the project is, for the most part, easy. usage generally only requires basic

5 Mhealth booster as a ProMoter oF business

legislation in health and social work sectors8%

the impacts of demographic changes8%

understanding the poten-tials of target groups15%

identifying the problems as basis for product development16%

Management and deci-sion making processes in health and social work sector19%

understanding the deci-sion making processes in the public sector17%

information security6%

regulatory approvals7%

other2%

nothing to be developed 2%

Figure 10: the perceived need for companies’ staff education in health and social work sectors


computer, internet, smartphone or tablet skills. customer-specific tailoring of the products is possible for 89% of the products. the tailoring possibilities included personal information, co-lour and interface. Many of the products in the project are produced with the help from other companies and subcontractors, or those are nee-ded to maintain the product.the results demonstrate that company needs mainly lie in the areas of marketing, internatio-nalisation, product development, customer rela-tion management, financing, and strategy com-petence. the areas in which company staff most required training to increase their competence are marketing, internationalisation and legal matters. networking and competitive tendering / public procurement were also identified as the-mes for which companies hoped to gain more competence through training.the greatest need for training related to social and health care sector lies in the areas of social and health care administration and decision-ma-king, understanding public procurement deci-sion-making, identifying problems that product development should focus on, and understan-ding target group activities / competence requi-rements. these four areas accounted for nearly 70% of the responses to the question ”in which areas of social and health care does your compa-ny staff need additional training?” (Figure 10) the companies’ different targets for development were divided quite equally. Product and service development and marketing were the biggest development targets by a few percentage points.

in terms of the types of the training, the com-panies considered seminars, lectures and work-shops to be best ways to obtain training. it was hoped that all training would be as high quality and beneficial to business as possible. discussion with the people being trained and other groups, such as customers and municipal decision-ma-kers, was seen as being particularly important. the companies hoped that discussion would help them find more ways of gaining access to public procurements and possibly influencing decision-makers, so that their products would be included in public procurement program-mes. one way in which this need was met in the project was an intermediate seminar and panel discussion held in June 2014 on the topic of pro-moting cooperation between municipalities and companies.a total of 66% of the companies in the survey

needed new labour, mostly in the ict field. sales and marketing professionals were also desired. this is likely due to the fact that the products and services of the companies in the survey are mostly mobile or program-based or have some kind of mobile application or other program related to them. the need for ict professionals may also be attributed to the need for continuous develop-ment of mobile applications, program updating, and editing. Marketing plays an important role in growing companies. this is why companies may look for new and innovative marketing experts, who can increase sales as optimally as possible. however, companies were not very enthusiastic about participating and/or arranging events to recruit ict professionals. nearly 70% of the res-pondents were not interested in such events.the companies were also asked what they expect from the mhealth booster project. in many cases, the responses emphasised increasing kno-wledge concerning certain topics, networking, reaching customers, and expanding the custo-mer base. the project did its best to meet the-se expectations. section 5.3 presents the feed-back the companies provided on the project.

5.2 training and coaching for companies and ict professionals Planning of the training concept for companies utilised the survey of competence and labour needs as well as the objectives of the mhealth booster project and other summaries done during the project. the results of mapping de-monstrate that company needs mainly lie in the areas of marketing, internationalisation, product development, customer relationship manage-ment, financing and strategy competence. the areas in which company staff most required training to increase their competence were mar-keting, internationalisation and legal matters. networking and competitive tendering / public procurement were also identified as themes for which companies hoped to gain more compe-tence through training. another important tar-get identified by companies was training related to social and health care sector, mainly in the areas of social and health care administration and decision-making, understanding public pro-curement decision-making, identifying problems that product development should focus on, and understanding target group activities/compe-tence requirements.

all in all, nine training events were held between May and november 2014 on the following topics:

• Legal matters• Digital marketing• Financing and networking• ”Human technology for elderly people”• Promoting internationalisation and export• Health and social care administration and deci-sion-making / Flexible municipal manager• Patents and IP rights, competitive tendering• Strategy competence & product development for new products• ”Everything you ever wanted to know about taxation”

laurea uas experts and experts from the corpo-rate world and municipal sectors planned and lectured at the training events.the events were open to entrepreneurs as well as unemployed job seekers in the ict sector and laurea uas students. a total of 324 people took part in the training events, for an average of 40 people / event. as the training progressed, it was discovered that on-site participation was chal-lenging for entrepreneurs, and the final lectures were recorded so that the entrepreneurs could become familiar with the content at a later time. Furthermore, nearly all of the lecture material was published on the project website after each event.Feedback on the training was collected by means of written forms that were distributed and collec-ted at the end of each event. Positive feedback was received concerning the diversity, inter-active nature and positive atmosphere of the lec-tures, and the broad-based competence of the lecturers. the lectures presented a wide range of company examples, and this was appreciated. the participants gained a lot of new information, which was in part presented in a stimulating and challenging manner intended to create new mo-dels for thinking. there was particular apprecia-tion for the practical topics that addressed public procurements, patents, and iP rights.in addition to the training events, the compa-nies involved in the project were offered com-pany-specific coaching sessions at no charge. they had the chance to book two-hour tar geted coaching sessions about the topic of their choice with the expert they requested. the compa-ny-specific coaching sessions were carried out by both the lecturers in the training package and

experts from stompwell oy.

5.3 results of the company survey

according to the feedback from companies (n=19), both the demonstration activities in the technology development environments and the training and coaching for companies arranged by the project proved to be quite successful in terms of promoting their business and increa-sing business competence. company feedback on the training was positive, with some two-thirds of respondents who participating in trai-ning assessing them as very good or good. it was difficult to show the impact of the activities on business growth in such a short time, but 40% of responding companies felt that the activities had a very good or good effect on increasing visibility of their product, while 27% believed that they reached new customers very well or well. how-ever, only 13% perceived an increase in demand for products during piloting, and only 7% of the respondents reported growth in sales due to the project. all in all, more than 62% of respondents felt that they received support and benefits very well or well, and half of the respondents felt that the needs of their companies were taken into consideration. half of the responding companies were also satisfied with student cooperation. de-velopment of the companies’ competence is ana-lysed in more detail in the next section.

”the project had good, high and impor-tant objectives, which all have not been reached yet, more information and mar-

keting, and better organisation is still needed.”

”Many good things have happened thanks to the project.”

”Very interesting new way to approach potential customers and students.”

”work effort, consulting, coping, and belief in the possibilities. the best and most concrete project that we have been involved in!”

”the project allowed me to make a lot of new contacts, the benefits of which are not all con-crete yet.”

”we have learnt a lot about our target customer group’s real needs, and we can develop our pro-duct to better meet those needs.”


the competence development that was the objective of the mhealth booster project is exa-mined from the perspectives of the students, the customers and the entrepreneurs. a customer is defined as a technology development envi-ronment visitor, who is interested in technolo-gical solutions and their testing. entrepreneurs are partners involved in the project, who have brought their own technological solutions to the technology development environments for testing and further development on a user-cent-red basis. the students are laurea uas students of social services and health care, and business management.

laurea students

For laurea students, the mhealth booster pro-ject has provided a learning environment that complies with the learning by developing action model (see raij 2013). the students participa ted in activities at the technology development en-vironments in espoo and Vantaa by becoming so familiar with the operation and features of the technological solutions presented there that they were able to serve as guides and advisers.

the students were also involved in all events that presented the technology development environments on a broader scale, as proven by the pop–up events and mobile library pilots. at the same time, their competence related to technology use and developing the technologi-cal solutions has improved, which is considered important with regard to the challenges of work in the future. sufficient technology competence on the part of staff promotes the introduction of technological solutions.table 3 summarises the credits earned by the stu-dents. the students completed a total of 628.5 credits in the espoo technology development environments, with 180 credits in the form of theses. the same numbers for Vantaa were a to-tal of 642 credits, with 60 completed as theses. students from other units completed 473 study credits in the espoo and Vantaa technology de-velopment environments. all in all, 1743.5 cre-dits were completed in the different technology development environments during the project, which is a significant achievement when consi-dering laurea’s different learning environments. eight theses were completed during the project.

6 Mhealth booster as a deVeloPer oF coMPetence

table 3: study credits achieved in the mhealth booster - project

students credited studies credited theses total

espoo 448,5 180 628,5

Vantaa, of which: 582 60 642

- technology library 560,5 60 620,5

- Young People’s city 21,5 21,5

Joint studies 473 473

total 1503,5 240 1743,5

3

the first assessment methods when ana-lysing the competence acquired by stu-dents in the technology development environments are various learning tasks, which were completed as follows:

• memorandums on events related to the techno-logy development environments (n=45)• workshop reports (N=4)• placement reports and various study unit reports (n=41)• various bulletins (N=4)• videos made for companies (N=11)• reports and posters related to service innovations (n=11)• learning diaries (N=9)• company training sessions and survey reports made for companies (n=44)

• business plans (N=10)• technology supplier map (N=1)• ICT – recruiting event report (N=1) interviews of customers and different actors, and their transcription with reports also describe the progress of the students’ learning work. the senior lecturers responsible for the various study units containing the learning tasks described and as-sessed the competences in relation to the targets, after which the students received their credits.the second method of assessment involved map-ping the competence acquired by students by means of feedback collected from the students (n=34). table 4 shows the students’ own percepti-on of the importance of the technology develop-ment environments, organised according to the emphasis on the reference.

4 table 4: technology development environments as learning environments based on students’ conceptions

competence contect description

health and wellbeing technology competence

new devices and the use of technology instruction of new devicesencouragement for catching new thingsidentification of new applications support for coping at home by using technologythe development of technology based solutions

Marketing competence customer service and guiding organizing pop-up eventspreparing advertisements preparing presentations & posterspreparing videos

interaction competence meeting different age groupsmeeting groupsidentification of the needs of target groupsuser centerednesssocial communication

business competence making a business plan mapping enterprises’ experiences deepening entrepreneurship mapping enterprises

Presentation compe-tence

taking the target audience into accountclarity and understandability of the messagetaking responsibility

Project competence project work as a learning methodthe different phases of a project workproject management


health and wellbeing technology as an enabler

enhances independent living

Prolongs staying at home enhances social wellbeing

enhances social inclusion

refreshes remembering

enhances and encourages moving

Quicker way of getting help

adds value to other health and wellbeing services

improves safety and security

Monitoring one’s own health and self care

early health risks detection

support daily activities

Figure 11: Possibilities of health and wellbeing technology based on students’ conceptions

5

as the table shows, health and wellbeing techno-logy competence is most emphasised, which was also the objective of the project. however, other competence related to interaction and working together with different users and with the compa-nies involved in the project was also achieved in the technology development environments. the impact of the technology development envi-ronments on competence development is evident in those students’ views which show their attitude towards the possibilities of health and wellbeing technology solutions. when asking how techno-logy can promote a person’s health and wellbeing, the student responses demonstrate a positive at-titude.

”reservedness towards technology dec-reased, and was replaced by the courage

to accept and try new things.”

”i can see some of the devices working well to sup-port home care.”

”...new solutions to improve health and wellbeing.”

”learned to see nursing and health care in a completely new way when looking at it from the perspective of this technology or application plat-form.”

after the project work ended, the students’ (n=34) opinions concerning the possibilities of health and wellbeing technology were compiled in Figure 11.

in summary, it can be said that the majority of students considered the learning environment to

be an important one that brought together users, different experts and entrepreneurs. competence enablers were the technological solutions presented, for which the students received guidance con-cerning use and usage possibilities so that they could in turn guide and advise different users. the ent-repreneur’s perspective allowed the students to examine technological solutions as saleable products and as business. the technology development environments made various encounters possible, and the resulting challenges this presented allowed the students to deepen their interaction competence.

users

For users, the technology development environments offered the opportunity to learn, under guidance and independently, about different technology products and services that particularly respond to their experiences of deteriorating health and fitness, loneliness, lack of safety and security, and low level of physical activity. these are considered to be factors that promote or complicate coping at home. the summarised written feedback (n=542) on the products and the interviews, based on diary entries, of the people that tested the products (n=22) during the summer show that the competence enabled by the technology development environments can be identified according to table 5.

based on their experiences, the users participating in the project hoped that the technological solutions would be developed to enable independent coping at home by increasing self-care competence. the

table 5: competences with their contents identified by the users

competence contect description

health and wellbeing technology competence

usability of devicesapplicability in one’s own lifedevice designexperiential meaning of devices devices improving the quality of lifeavailability and the price of devices

communication competence improving social inclusionwidening social interactionsexpanding one’s own life circle deepening the meaning of interactions

self-care competence controlling and monitoring one’s own health statusenhancing physical activity developing pharmacological treatmentthe meaning of monitoring vital functionsstrengthening self-care capabilities

safety and security competence

monitoring vital functions increases freedomthe meaning of positioning getting help enabling coping at home


7.1 ethical issues

all activities in the mhealth booster project were governed by research ethics instructions and practices. research permits were requested from the city of espoo and city of Vantaa in accor-dance with good scientific practice. the people participating in the project were mainly private customers living at home, and elderly people living in service houses and their significant others, as well as experts working in the social and health care sector and education depart-ment of both cities. as participants, the elderly people were, both as individuals and groups, ethically challenging, vulnerable and sensiti-ve subjects. as a result, the ethical issues were handled very carefully and the rights of the parti-cipants protected. all participants in the research were asked to provide informed consent.Prior to providing their consent, the purpose of the research and the rights of the participants were explained in detail (etene 2010). special care and sensitivity was shown when collec-ting information during testing and research situations. each actor taking part in the proje-ct committed to the project and confirmed its non-disclosure obligation. ethical and legal rights were ensured in different phases of the project so that no damage was done to the people par-ticipating in the project during any part of the project (see leino-Kilpi & tuomaala 1989, band-man & bandman 1995, holloway & wheeler 1996, Vehviläinen-Julkunen 1997, topo 2007).the research material was carefully stored during the process and will be destroyed when the pro-ject ends in december 2014. the research results will be reported and documented in a final re-port, and published at the final project seminar. the project documents will be stored in comp-liance with the instructions of the funding body.

7.2 reliability analysis

reliability has been analysed during the project

process from the perspective of action research, material analysis, and results. in action research, the reliability analysis focuses on different proje-ct phases, its data collection, and the active and authentic participation of actors and hearing their voice. Material collection in different pha-ses of the action research cycle progressed accor-ding to plan. different phases of data collection involved, for example, examining factors related to technology development environment activi-ties, and attempts were made to correct and imp-rove communications about the activities. active cooperation with the participating customers, groups, experts and different actors promoted continuity of activities during the project. with regard to the qualitative content analysis of the data collection material, truthfulness, equiva-lence and transferability in the reliability analysis were essential throughout the project and action research. the material analysis is based on the recorded and transcribed materials. the results of the material analysis were continuously taken into account in different phases of the action re-search as the project moved forward. authentic quotes were also used when reporting the re-sults (for example, burns & growe 1997, holstein & gubrium 1997, nieminen 1997.), making it possible to demonstrate the consistency of the results in relation to the material. content relia-bility is supported by the fact that, during the project, the participating customers and experts were actively involved in activities and in various project working groups. the data collected as feedback and assessments was utilised immedia-tely during the project. all impacts of the project, especially cost impacts, could not be proven or verified due to the short project duration.

7.3 results analysis

the technology development environments pi-loted during the mhealth booster project and their activities demonstrated their benefit and

7 discussiontechnological solutions presented in the tech-nology development environments and guidance related to their use were perceived as increasing the possibility to cope at home, improve quality of life by enhancing safety and security, in creasing social interaction and the quality and meaning-fulness of contact, and encouraging people to be physically active.From the perspective of the social and health care staff involved in the project (n=29), technology competence includes awareness of different tech-nological solutions, their possible use in different environments, competence regarding use, and availability. competence also means a new attitu-de towards developing technological solutions in order to renew services and care processes.

companies

the companies that joined the project (n=36) saw the technology development environments as an opportunity to increase recognition of their products and services and obtain feedback based on user experiences for use in developing their products and services. it is widely hoped that this type of development work will result in business growth.

the technology development environ-ments also provided the companies with a learning environment. Feedback from the companies shows that their competence can be identified as follows:

• business competence• cooperation competence• product demonstration competence• technology competence

business competence development is related to developing new operating methods for marketing the company’s products and services.

”we need these kinds of places that allow us to present different products or services in an altruistic manner. in our opinion, the

fact that the technology development environme-nts are neutral is a good and important element of the project activities.”

”the coaching and consulting services offered in the latter stages of the project were very good.”

cooperation competence means development of

cooperation between the companies enabled by the project, which at best has led to the integration of product competencies.

”it was an interesting meeting (with other companies) and they really liked Mubik. we’ll have to see whether we could coope-

rate in some way next year.”

in this context, product demonstration competen-ce means targeting a demonstration to a specific customer, and identifying the needs of the target group.

”there was also open resistance to techno-logy, which did not encourage fruitful dis-cussion.”

technology competence means further develop-ment of a company’s own product or service on the basis of customer feedback, and as inspired by new application possibilities. during winter 2014, the project mapped customer views on develo-ping their own competence. the training concept was implemented during autumn 2014. the feed-back survey showed that the majority of the par-ticipating companies (n=19) considered the level of training provided to be very good or to have met their expectations. Feedback obtained from the companies made it possible to promote com-petence development by making activities more systematic and developing the feedback system in a way that would provide faster feedback. this would make it possible to immediately address de-velopment targets.

summary

in summary, it can be said that the technology de-velopment environments also served as learning environments for all parties. they represent ge-nuine interaction between students, various users and entrepreneurs, which enables cooperation, co-development, and networking. the objective of the project was to promote technology competen-ce, and it was achieved for both students and users with an emphasis on using and increasing recogni-tion of the devices. the technology competence of entrepreneurs was promoted by customer fee-dback on product usability and fresh ideas arising from new and different cooperation opportunities. however, the technology-centred development environments also served as an enabler of diverse competence, as demonstrated by the analysis of the material.


necessity, from the perspective of both project research and transferability of results. especial-ly with regard to elderly customers, the project results for guidance and advisory work develop-ment and process proved the importance and need for technology products for both public ac-tors and private entrepreneurs. it is notable that both elderly customers and young customers can become familiar with, test and acquire health and wellbeing technology products and soluti-ons and receive expert guidance and advice in a reliable and safe environment. the objective of the project was to promote and grow the business of the cooperating companies and to increase business competence. the results show that the potential of technology develop-ment environments as a promoter of business have not yet been fully utilised. challenges inclu-ded the difficulty of verifying the realised results and the short project duration. however, many of the companies felt that the project provided them with concrete benefits, for example, in the forms of training, reaching customers, and competence development. the benefits that the student projects and theses produced for com-panies were also greatly appreciated. as a result, continuation of company collaboration and fur-ther refinement of the technology development environments to reach their full potential is seen important. in addition, the long-term cooperati-on between universities and companies is seen as significant to the future of the entire area.rather than ethics, ikonen (2013) uses the con-cept of responsibility and emphasises the impor-tance of awareness and understanding alongside policy decision. he believes that the foundation of technology must always lie in caring, serving life and humanity, replacing deficiencies, impro-ving safety and security, and embracing fairness, equality and the choice and dignity of the indi-vidual. health and wellbeing technology must be assessed from the viewpoint of maturity, re-liability and ethics. it must also be remembered that the savings and economy resulting from the products and services constitute the responsibi-lity towards society and its members that ikonen calls for.economical and cost-efficient solutions can even promote the health, wellbeing and independent coping of different age groups. action research and user-centred approaches and methods pro-mote and enable the implementation of techno-logical solutions and their application in coope-ration with other actors, in which case the voice

of the users and their participation with respe-ct to the new product or method will become strongly apparent. heiskanen, hyvönen, repo and saastamoinen (2007) emphasise the impor-tance of users in product development in their technology report, in which a literature review and pilots confirm the role of users in both re-search and product development. rask’s (2010) report on research policy and its possibilities in society also emphasises that user requirements and expectations are an important part of the process.the mhealth booster project was implemented on the basis of action research, using participa-tory and user-centred methods. Many actors in different operating environments tested their health and wellbeing technology products and developed a new operating method or a service that integrates with the needs and challenges of different customer groups. this activity in the mhealth booster project corresponds to the activities of ranti and Kivikangas (2011), which was user-centred, took place in real-life situa-tions, and involved a broad ecosystem of actors. the fact that some of the products and services tested in the technology development environ-ments eventually became part of the end users’ everyday work can be considered as one of the project’s successes.other results of the mhealth booster project were feedback and assessments of the compa-nies’ products and services, which were based on the trials and tests. all product feedback went directly to the appropriate companies to support their product development. technology-related guidance, instruction and support, and its con-tent and methods are a core issue when trans-ferring health and wellbeing technology to the customers and the experts. the participation of users when developing improvements, and even new services, is of utmost importance. according to heiskanen et al. (2007), user experiences and feedback produce a response for developing the benefit and comfort of products, and new ideas for the companies and other actors.raappana & Melkas (2009) also stated that pro-duct and service usage can also be more produc-tive if the products and services are considered appealing. customers and different actors must clearly be aware of what needs the technology can meet. the functionality of technology and the related services is a socially significant issue when digital services and products are being de-veloped.

the european innovation union focuses in the ageing theme in active and healthy ageing (the european innovation Partnership on active and healthy ageing). the objective of the program-me is to enable citizens to lead healthy, active and independent lives while ageing, to impro-ve the sustainability and efficiency of social and health care systems, and to boost and improve the competitiveness of the markets for innova-tive products and services, responding to the ageing challenge at both eu and global level, thus creating new opportunities for businesses (active and healthy ageing 2012). the objectives in the mhealth booster project and the project activities met the content targets of the inno-vation programme. during the project, a new network-like business model in the health and wellbeing technology context was discussed many times, but business model was not pro-duced due to the short duration of the project.

7.4 Future challenges

the mhealth booster project implemented low-threshold health and wellbeing technology demonstration points as close to the customer as possible, providing a place to become familiar with and try the products in a flexible manner. guidance and advice both in the technology de-velopment environments and in home environ-ments are fundamental requirements for techno-logy usage and tailored solutions. the guidance and advisory process begins right from the first encounter, continues during the user experience, and then as assessment after an agreed period of time. technical support is also important in order to make the product or service to be beneficial to the customer. the future challenges continue to involve getting closer to people and more extensive dissemination of the project’s good practices, such as the presentation, guidance and instruction related to health and wellbeing technologies that was implemented in the te-chnology development environments to both customers and experts.as technology develops, health and wellbeing technology products are also changing and de-veloping in line with technology and user expe-riences. systematic data collection about the experiences and feedback of users and experts enables product development. health and wel-lbeing technology testing and trial activities in real environments and situations with the right people and groups will require good coopera-

tion and the desire for joint planning also in the future.another challenge will be to further research and develop new, integrable physical and virtual ser-vices. in terms of competence, technology com-petence and closely related customer compe-tence will, in the future, require a new and agile learning culture, flexible teaching programmes and methods in a digital environment. in his re-search, Vesterinen (2011, 56–57) also highlights senior work competence and eservices in health and wellbeing counselling as an important fu-ture development area in social and health care education.in the coming years, ageing is the biggest social and economic challenge in different european countries, affecting policies on many levels and in different sectors. by 2025, more than 20% of the population will be over the age of 65 and the number of people over 80 will increase quickly (active and healthy ageing 2012). the rapid de-velopment of health and wellbeing technology and its use to support coping at home, in health monitoring, and in promoting health and well-being will contribute to meeting these challen-ges in an effective manner.in the future, it will be useful to plan and imple-ment an international research project on the possibilities and impacts of promoting health and wellbeing in cooperation with the various actors involved in the mhealth booster project.

developing the technology develop-ment environmentsthe technology development environment ac-tivities should in the future be expanded to new operating environments in espoo and Vantaa. it is also important for the different actors to expand the operating model and increase awareness throughout the uusimaa region and nationally. this would also apply to bringing in new compa-nies and their products into the environments.development of the activities is also closely lin-ked to increasing other activities taking place at the demonstration points, for example, by means of various theme days where companies could also be involved. the so-called cold point met-hod could also be tested in the environments. this means that the points would only be open on days when the staff is present, while on the other days the devices would on display so that visitors could become familiar with them on their own.


development of activities in the technology development environments is closely linked to concrete measures aimed at enhancing the effectiveness of communications and marke-ting, such as increasing contact with the target groups, new communications materials, and by implementing virtual versions of the technology development environments. the technology de-velopment environments could also have com-puters, which would include a virtual version of the environment and pages with additional information about the services and applications displayed.one form of developing technology develop-ment environment activities is a concrete expan-sion of lending activities with regard to devices and the number of lending points. this is also closely linked to an increase in the work effort of the library staff, in order to quickly get the return-ed devices back into circulation.

student compentence

in the future, student competence should be ensured and guaranteed by several actors. Pro-duct training and induction related to the te-chnology development environments should be of higher quality and more detailed, but the student counsellors and other teachers also have to take responsibility for student competence, for example, with regard to customer work and meeting the customer. in the future, an increa-sing number of students from several different fields of study should be steadily integrated into the technology development environments and their activities on an equal basis. this will prevent small student efforts of a few hours, which, once all the preparations are taken into consideration, require more time and effort than the resulting benefit. the diverse competence and interests of students should be utilised not only for de-

monstration activities but also for other activities related to the technology development environ-ments, for example, for communications and planning, arranging and organising events. even more effort should also be put into cooperation between the students and the companies, be-cause this provides the companies with different benefits than what are gained from demonstrati-on activities in the technology development en-vironments. at the same time, the students ob-tain concrete knowledge of company operations.

company compentence

during the project, the companies received di-verse support for their business. the companies’ products, services and applications were pre-sented in the technology development environ-ments and at seniors’ events as well as at other events in espoo and Vantaa and other parts of the uusimaa region. customer feedback was also gathered on the products and forwarded to the companies. company trainings were also organi-sed, with topics based on the themes suggested by the companies. the project also organised a variety of events, into which the companies were invited to present their operations and to network.in the future, there should be a more detailed review and agreement concerning the impacts of technology development environment acti-vities on company operations. the same process should apply to determining the requirements that technology development environment have for the companies, so that the activities are as na-tural and beneficial as possible for all. cooperati-on between companies and students in the form of projects and theses should be increased, as it provides companies with concrete benefits and new perspectives and ideas, as well as product development that targets their specific needs.

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aPPendix 1 companies which participated in the project activities

aaria Family oyactive life Village oyaddoz oyaino health Managementaksulit oyalhola consulting oyarcticare technologies oybeddit oybiisafe oyblue lake communications oybPs consulting Finland oybriiMcommtabs oyculminatum innovation oy ltddigital living Finlanddra consulting oyebsolut oyedis Pia laurila oyelisa oyjelsi technologies oyemfit oyemtele oyevondos oyextensive life oyFalck oyFastroi oyFenno Medical oyFinncabinovaForum Virium helsinkiFotracon Yhtiöt oygreenday Promotions oyheadsted oyhealth revolution ltdhelpmeans terveysturva oyhJP-lukuteline oyhome instead seniorihoivahouse & lifeMgt suomi oyinnohome ltdinnovamo oyinvalidiliiton asumispalvelut oyiscom oyKaukomarkkinat oyliike4k oylingua care oylivliv solutions oyludus helsinki oy

lumi interactive oyMariefors open oyMealtrackerMedixine oyMenumat oyMicrosoftMirasys oyMobile wellness solutions oyModz oyMovendos oyMubik entertainment oymyhealthway oynetpresence oyniitty-nummen hoitokoti oyodosoft oyoppifi oyoppimaa oyoptiikka Juurinen oyoy anglo-nordic abPieni piiri oyPlanetboard oyPlayground FinlandPractitec oyPro dosis oyProdman oyProsantéregenero consultingrelaxbirth oysafera oyseniortek oysentina oysisko-palvelutsmartVisio oysonera oyjstompwell oysuomen apu-tuote oyterveysoperaattori oytraxmeet oytunstall oyturvallinen Koti oyVeropalvelu sofia oyVideoVisit oyVivago oywellbookers oywellness Foundry holding oyYour turn concept

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