Simply participate – Effects of networked assistance on the social and cognitive health of people with care and support needs
Prof. Dr. Karin Wolf-Ostermann (Health Sciences)
Prof. Dr. Mark Schweda (Ethics in Medicine)
For a long time now, research on (older) care-dependent people and people with cognitive impairments has no longer focused solely on functional health outcomes, but has expanded in the direction of psychological and social factors. Maintaining the quality of life of people living with dementia is considered a central goal of nursing and medical care. More recent research has expanded these goals to include the construct of social health. In addition to its technical function as a hearing aid, the conventional hearing aid is also a mediator for the social participation of care-dependent people and thus has a variety of effects on health and social factors. The aim of the project therefore is to analyze the effects of hearables on social and cognitive health. Involving various user groups in a participatory manner parameters on acceptance and intensity of use are to be linked and analyzed in everyday use with outcomes relating to psychological and social factors.