Technology to support Older adults – Personal and Social interaction (TOPS)

The aim of this project was to develop technology to maximise personal and social interaction between older adults with chronic pain and their health and social care providers. Funding was provided by the

Research Councils UK (RCUK) and it ran from January to October 2013.

Project Objectives

• The TOPS project was in response to the widespread upscaling in the use of electronic healthcare technologies (sometimes known as 'telehealthcare') to support patients in their homes.
• Interaction with carers is often central to the experience and well-being of older adults within our communities. This important social element of care is not commonly considered in home healthcare technology design. Any abrupt or insensitive introduction of such technology may interfere with current levels of personal and social interaction. Older adults with chronic pain may be affected more as they can already feel physically and/or socially isolated. TOPS aimed to design appropriate technology in order to retain/enhance personal and social interaction with their health and social care providers.
• TOPS was a multidisciplinary project involving healthcare researchers, human geographers, social scientists and computing scientists.

Methodology

Research methods used were surveys, participant observation and interviews.
 

Key Contact

Mags Currie [1]

http://www.dotrural.ac.uk/tops/ [2]