CareConnection: A Digital Caring Community Platform to Overcome Barriers of Asking for, Accepting and Giving Help

Many people would like to remain in their familiar surroundings in old age, even if they need certain forms of assistance. But what exactly does everyday life look like, where are the hurdles and where can community-based support options start? The results of a citizen-based participatory interview study of community members of a rural Living Lab near Zurich, Switzerland and full-time researchers from two universities in Switzerland and Germany explore these questions. Results of the study relate to physical limitations and potentials in old age, aspects of well-being and mental health, social engagement, relationships and networks, as well as the theme of ‘asking for help, accepting help and giving help’. Against the background of a key category, the barriers of ‘asking for, accepting and giving help’, an overarching reflection by the co-researchers and full-time researchers took place. This focus provided the basis for the participatory development of CareConnection, a digital community platform design that fosters social exchange and helps to overcome identified barriers, which can be physical, mental or social and within these categories temporal, spatial, structural and/or individual and thus enable or promote social encounters and interaction to establish a higher level of well-being and health.