Evaluating Innovations for the Physical Environment in Home Care – A Workplace for One, A Home for the Other

To a higher degree, older adults will live to old age in their own homes with the assistance of home care services. One effect of this is an increased number of people working in the home environment. This paper presents the results from a research project that studied the physical environment in Swedish home care. Innovations to support the home care situation were developed, with the aim of contributing to patient safety and improving working conditions, without diminishing the homelike atmosphere. These innovations were evaluated by both the care recipients and home care staff. The number of generated ideas shows the potential for improving the way in which home care is performed. One example is piece of storage furniture that addresses many of the identified problem areas. This was well received by the staff and residents. One challenge with the type of products presented is that they are neither direct work tools nor aids for the elderly, which means that in today’s organization in Sweden, there is no system for financing them.