Healthcare should be knowledge-based, safe, accessible, effective, equitable, and based on the individual's needs. The Future Healthy Aging program is based on the research group's previous findings and has its theoretical foundation in the following concepts.
Welfare Technology is part of e-health and refers to digital technology aimed at maintaining or increasing safety, activity, participation, support, or independence for a person who has or is at increased risk of having a disability. Digital technology significantly contributes to making the home a new arena for health, supporting independent living, and preventing or complementing care needs. According to the National Board of Health and Welfare, digital solutions should be implemented and used in accordance with the criteria for good and close care.
In our research program, we see digital technology as a tool (not just for healthcare but for all actors) that must be relevant, lead to participation, and preserve self-determination. The purpose of using e-health solutions should not be to reduce older people's opportunities for interaction or meetings within care, but rather to make these meetings more effective and rewarding for all parties.
Activities of Daily Living (ADL) are activities that the person wants and needs to do in their daily life and are identified by older individuals. They may include personal care (basic skills for independently taking care of oneself, such as eating, bathing, and moving), productive activities (transportation, grocery shopping, paying bills), or recreational activities (participating in social and cultural activities, events). Daily activities like standing and moving can provide health benefits, but engaging activities must also be added to increase the value and experience of well-being. WHO's guidelines for physical activity and sedentary behavior recommend that older adults limit the amount of sedentary time and replace it with physical activity of any intensity to achieve health benefits.
Reablement is a well-established social and healthcare method used in internationally recognized home care services. Reablement involves a person-centered approach and is provided by home care staff in collaboration with healthcare professionals. The aim of reablement is to improve a person's physical and/or other functions, to increase or maintain their independence in meaningful activities in daily life at their place of residence, and to reduce their need for long-term services. This is done, in collaboration with the older person and their relatives, by providing enough support for the older person to perform the daily activities they need and want to do (i.e., participate in everyday activities).
Person-Centered Care respects the older person's choices, participation, influence, and autonomy. The person is respected as an individual with needs, values, and preferences. In all our projects, we will emphasize the rights of older individuals and their personal choices and goals as components for successful healthy aging. Person-centered care should be provided in collaboration between the older person and healthcare professionals, based on the needs and preferences identified by the individual. Using goal-setting is essential to stimulate will and for participants in an intervention. In the program, full respect for individuals' choice of goals will be emphasized, and older people will be encouraged to identify goals related to valuable, engaging daily activities and areas in daily life, including social function. The theoretical foundation demonstrates the inherent relationship between the environment, daily activities, and personal functions.
Co-Creation and Implementation is a process that early involves the end users – namely older individuals, relatives, healthcare and home care staff, and management – to explore the mechanisms and factors affecting the implementation process. The purpose is to develop and introduce digital solutions in healthcare and social services. In this program, we will continue our previous research and use the Medical Research Council (MRC) guidelines, including ADAPT, as a framework for the various projects. The ADAPT guidelines will be used when adapting interventions for implementation and/or reassessment in new contexts. The Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research will be used when describing and analyzing the results of the interventions used in the program.
Frailty is a health condition defined as a progressive age-related decline in physiological systems that results in reduced reserves of inherent capacity. This leads to extreme vulnerability to stressors and increases the risk of negative health outcomes (WHO). Frailty focuses on function and not specifically on diseases. Inherent capacity is a combination of all physical and mental abilities that an individual can draw upon at any given time. Functional capacity is the combination of, and interaction between, inherent capacity and the environment. Cesari et al.'s definition of inherent capacity can be divided into five different areas: cognition, psychological (mood and sociality), sensory function (vision and hearing), vitality (i.e., the balance between energy intake and energy expenditure), and mobility, including muscle function.