More information and greater access to assistive technology for the elderly

Hjälpmedelsnämnden (board for assistive technology) in Halland, in cooperation with the Healthcare Technology Alliance and Hjälpmedelscentralen (assistive technology centre), has been given the opportunity to run a three-year project within the frame of the Government’s initiative “Technology for the Elderly”.

The assignment in brief

The Government has commissioned the Swedish Institute of Assistive Technology to coordinate a three-year technology initiative for the elderly. The initiative should support development processes with the aim of improving access for the elderly to functional and safe products and services that use technology to make everyday activities easier.

Trials in Halland

The project (trials) was started in Halland in autumn 2007. The autumn was spent writing seven sub-projects and appointing a project leader for the trials. The project leader is Lars-Gunnar Petersson and he has coordination responsibility for all seven projects. The project will run until the end of 2009.

Three goals of the trials

Every project in the trials has goals, and there are also goals for the trials as a whole. The idea is that each project should contribute to achieving these goals. The three goals are:

1. More elderly people in Halland should know that there are good products/small aids that can make their everyday life easier and where to buy them.
2. Good products for the elderly should be more widely available than they are today.
3. Increased knowledge about obstacles and opportunities for making products more available to the elderly.

The aim is for the experiences to break through into the regular activity also after the trials have ended.