Introduction: In Swedish municipal elder care, welfare technology is seen as one solution to the challenges posed by a growing number of older people in need of assistance and decreasing staff resources. However, there is limited research on how the staff working closest to the older people perceive the potential of welfare technology.
Objectives: This study aims to investigate staff’s perceptions of the implementation and use of welfare technology in municipal elder care.
Methods: Data collection with semi-structured interviews is ongoing and is expected to be completed in March 2025. The initiated analysis uses reflexive thematic analysis.
Results: Preliminary results show that staff initially felt worried about how welfare technology would work, whether they would be able to use the technology, and how it would affect their work. However, different welfare technology systems for staff, such as digital locks and digital medical records, have facilitated their work, making their daily tasks easier. They believe that welfare technology contributes to the older person’s independence and security. However, evaluation of the welfare technology used is very rare, as is the training provided to staff on how to use the technology.
Conclusion: Data collection and analysis are ongoing, and conclusions as well as implications for occupational therapy will be presented at the conference.