Page 76 - Petelin, Ana. 2021. Ed. Zdravje starostnikov / Health of the Elderly. Proceedings. Koper: University of Primorska Press.
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avje starostnikov | health of the elderly 74 Sample
The Slovenian sample consisted of 55 dyads from PE and their SE. Both PEs (74.5
%) and SEs (63.4 %) were predominantly female. PEs were on average 78.4 years
old and a higher proportion (67.3 %) lived in a single-person household. All but
one SE owned a smartphone and a computer, while 67.3% of PEs owned a com-
puter and 58.2% owned a smartphone. A large proportion of PEs (70.4 %) con-
sidered themselves independent, but 43.6 % had experienced a fall in the past
year. SEs were on average 52.8 years old (SD = 11.58). SEs in the sample were well
educated, with nearly three-quarters having a university degree or more. Those
who cared for PE did so for an average of 5.8 hours per week (SD = 10.41) and an
average of 6.6 years (SD = 7.69). The majority (71 %) were children of SEs, fol-
lowed by partners (14.5 %). Just over a quarter of SEs (27.3 %) lived in the same
building as PEs and another fifth lived within walking distance. The remain-
ing half of SEs were 15 minutes or more drive from PEs, and half of them were
up to 30 minutes away.
Results
Importance of telecare functionalities
Table 1. Importance of eight main areas of telecare functionalities
Telecare functionalities PE SE
Safety and security M SD M SD
Technology-related services
Emergency services 4.32 0.687 4.46 0.482
Services in case of need 4.17 1.052 4.36 0.841
Health and care 4.17 1.065 4.41 0.885
Living environment 4.04 1.095 4.14 1.073
Information and communication 3.33 1.343 3.66 1.107
Leisure activities 2.65 1.262 2.87 1.25
2.57 1.202 2.98 1.102
1.98 1.201 2.35 1.377
Legend: M= Mean; SD= Standard deviation
Note: Perceived importance of TC functionalities was measured on a 5-point scale:
1-not important, 2-slightly important, 3-moderately important, 4-significant, 5-significantly
important.
All but three participants in the study had no experience with telecare servic-
es. However, participants were introduced to telecare services during the pro-
ject‘s introductory session. After the introduction, participants rated a range of
functionalities of telecare services in eight main areas (safety, technology-relat-
ed services, emergency services, services in case of need, health and care, liv-
ing environment, information and communication, leisure) according to how
important they perceived them to be. When observing eight main areas of tele-
care functionalities, we found no statistically significant differences between
the responses of PEs and SEs. Both, PEs and SEs, identified provision of safety
The Slovenian sample consisted of 55 dyads from PE and their SE. Both PEs (74.5
%) and SEs (63.4 %) were predominantly female. PEs were on average 78.4 years
old and a higher proportion (67.3 %) lived in a single-person household. All but
one SE owned a smartphone and a computer, while 67.3% of PEs owned a com-
puter and 58.2% owned a smartphone. A large proportion of PEs (70.4 %) con-
sidered themselves independent, but 43.6 % had experienced a fall in the past
year. SEs were on average 52.8 years old (SD = 11.58). SEs in the sample were well
educated, with nearly three-quarters having a university degree or more. Those
who cared for PE did so for an average of 5.8 hours per week (SD = 10.41) and an
average of 6.6 years (SD = 7.69). The majority (71 %) were children of SEs, fol-
lowed by partners (14.5 %). Just over a quarter of SEs (27.3 %) lived in the same
building as PEs and another fifth lived within walking distance. The remain-
ing half of SEs were 15 minutes or more drive from PEs, and half of them were
up to 30 minutes away.
Results
Importance of telecare functionalities
Table 1. Importance of eight main areas of telecare functionalities
Telecare functionalities PE SE
Safety and security M SD M SD
Technology-related services
Emergency services 4.32 0.687 4.46 0.482
Services in case of need 4.17 1.052 4.36 0.841
Health and care 4.17 1.065 4.41 0.885
Living environment 4.04 1.095 4.14 1.073
Information and communication 3.33 1.343 3.66 1.107
Leisure activities 2.65 1.262 2.87 1.25
2.57 1.202 2.98 1.102
1.98 1.201 2.35 1.377
Legend: M= Mean; SD= Standard deviation
Note: Perceived importance of TC functionalities was measured on a 5-point scale:
1-not important, 2-slightly important, 3-moderately important, 4-significant, 5-significantly
important.
All but three participants in the study had no experience with telecare servic-
es. However, participants were introduced to telecare services during the pro-
ject‘s introductory session. After the introduction, participants rated a range of
functionalities of telecare services in eight main areas (safety, technology-relat-
ed services, emergency services, services in case of need, health and care, liv-
ing environment, information and communication, leisure) according to how
important they perceived them to be. When observing eight main areas of tele-
care functionalities, we found no statistically significant differences between
the responses of PEs and SEs. Both, PEs and SEs, identified provision of safety
