Early results from T-Seniority project looking positive

Initial reports from a telecare pilot programme delivering health and Internet style services via TV shows that older people are keen on using the TV to receive information and communicate. Headlines show that using the TV for information and services made them feel more confident with technology, that they used it regularly and enjoyed using it finding easy to use and in many cases felt that the service brought them closer with their families.

The EU-funded T-Seniority service was designed by Looking Local and deployed on the Looking Local technology which has been successfully publishing public sector services from over 120 partners on digital interactive TV, mobile phones and games consoles for over six years.

The evaluation was based on face to face interviews with 90 people in the Liverpool and Kent areas, the vast majority of who would be eligible for the Digital Switchover Helpscheme. Most participants were in residential care, but a number lived in their own or family homes.

The group on the whole was not technology-literate; whilst all had at some point in their life used Teletext, only 19% had used a PC and 18% had accessed the web. Only 4% had ever used a games console via which the services were accessed and delivered on to a TV screen. The Nintendo Wii was used due to two key factors; the ease of installation at care homes and improved accessibility via the point and shoot technology of the Wii remote control.

T-Seniority gave older people access to the following services:

• Transport Information
• Health Information
• Doctors Appointments
• Public Webcams
• News & Weather
• Picture Library
• Address Book
• Jukebox
• Email
• Events Calendar

Initial Headlines of the research show:

• 80% of the group felt that the service was clear and user friendly
• 81% felt T-Seniority made them feel more informed
• 43% of people felt that T-Seniority brought them closer to their family and friends
• 81% felt the service enabled them to enrich their means of communication
• 73% felt that the service made their life easier by giving them greater autonomy
• 55% of the group felt that the services delivered were very useful to them, a further 33% said they were sufficiently useful
• 68% used the service a couple of times a week or more
• 75% felt that using the service made them more confident with new technologies
• 85% enjoyed their sessions on T-Seniority
• 55% said they would continue to use the service after the pilot
• 75% said they would recommend it to other elderly people
• 55% said they spoke about T-Seniority with their family

Looking Local is in the process of compiling wider T-Seniority results as part of the end of project evaluation report, however is hugely encouraged by the initial findings and keen to work with organisations to deliver TV based services to older people, who are obviously keen to use TV to communicate and improve their lives.

Please contact us if you would like to receive the full report on completion in December 2010 or to discuss these findings further.