Proactive health and welfare technology for Nordic users and societies – A policy brief

Abstract

This policy brief addresses the challenges and knowledge needs related to health and welfare technology use. It is particularly focused on Nordic countries because the research work was conducted there. However, the topic is relevant to other countries and regions, as the health and well­being of citizens and professional caregivers are important issues in all countries. The policy brief is based on the results gained in the Nordic research networking project, Proactive health and welfare technology for Nordic users and societies (PROTECT), which arranged a workshop series to advance Nordic research-­based knowledge of proactive health and welfare tech­nology at three levels: (1) end users (older­-age clients/patients and people with disabilities) and their informal caregivers (micro level); (2) the implementation level from the perspective of professional caregivers and organisations (meso level); and (3) the societal (macro) level.