1. Family strategies in eldercare in
Hungary and the role of ICT:
Skype Care
Zsuzsa Széman
Institute of Sociology, SR HAS
Email:szemanzs@hu.inter.net
IFA 11th Global Conference on
Ageing
28 May - 01 June 2012
Prague

2. Patterns of care strategies of families
1. Active family carer;
2. Inactive family carer;
3. Family carer receiving a care allowance;
4. Family care with shared responsibility;
5. Family employing legal carer;
6. Family employing undocumented non-migrant
carer;
7. Family carer also with earnings on the black market;
8. Family employing undocumented migrant carer –
round the clock service, living in

3. What can they provide?
 Type 1-7
- physical help, care, nursing, transport,
administration, etc and/or
- mental help but
 Expect type 8, mental care does not meet the
need of older people

4. Formal care
Mental care is part of help/care
 Pensioners’ club - for more mobile older people
 Home help/care – LCT at home
– not enough
 Residential/nursing home - LCT in residential home
– not enough
---------------
Other services
Meals on wheels: social sector
Home nursing: health sector

5. Suicide in Hungary among older people
Suicide attempts among old and very old people - great
challenge in Hungary
 Cause may be loneliness, depression, no goal,
decreased social network: Formal or informal carers
know of them
 No reliable statistical data on suicide attempts
*
Successful suicides per 100,000 inhabitants*
Male Female
 60-64 y 51.7 14.9
 80-84 y 127.6 27.5
 85+ 160.6 28.5
 Source: KSH 2009b, 24, 26.

6. 1 year Action research in 2011
Hypothesis
 Loneliness, depression of old care recipients
will end of they are able to learn to use
Skype
 Better quality of life

7. Sample, criteria of choice
 Cared for in the formal care system provided at home
 15 persons
 capital (Budapest), (county seat, Székesfehérvár (5)
 Receiving mental care and/or physical care,
 Limited outdoor mobility
 Loneliness and/or depression, 2 suicide attempts
 Average age: 80 + years
 NO computer skills
 Having family members with Skype
 Majority women
 Majority white collar

8. Methodology
1. Before starting: observation, talk
2. During installation: observation, talk
3. Permanent feedback by carers
4. Intervention if necessary*
5. Involvement of
a. 16-year-old volunteers:
 regular help
b. social workers (4th month)
 case studies not knowing the previous physical, mental
health
6. Evaluation: researcher
*E.g. sensitivity of the mouse was reduced, the icons were made
larger (30% bigger 1024x768 instead of the default size)

9. Negative emotions before the
installation of the computers
1. Amazement (that they are getting a
computer)
2. Interest
3. Disclaiming “I’m too old for that, that’s
for the young”
4. A great degree of fear, alarm

10. Positive emotions before the
installation of the computers
1. Impatience
“When will I be getting it?”
2. Excitement “What will it look like, how will
I use it?”
3. Joy at reduction of the knowledge gap
between generations.
“I’ll have one, just like my grandchild.”….
“It will be good if I can use it.”

11. Motivation
a. See/talk with family, grandchild:
b. Strong desire to learn despite illness
c. New goal (worth living)
d. Daily occupation

12. Change of social network through
Skype
Phase 1. intention to talk only to family
 Maintain or strengthen their relationship
Phase 2: want to find a friend, acquaintance
 Keep old relationships alive
Phase 3: want to find other older people
 Widen social network

13. Motivation: grandchildren, family
 “I can see my grandchildren all the time
and they can see me.”

14. Role of young volunteers
By permanent help insured
 Transfer of their up-to-date technical knowledge
 technical catching up
 end prejudice against older people
 continuous learning
– „We taught Aunt K. to use the internet. She learnt
to use the mouse, to visit portals, create an
email account.”

15. Prejudice
 Society
– “I’d like to see what these old people are
going to do with these computers: probably
put a lace doyley on them, and a vase on that
and then look at them.” (younger man)
 Family
– “The family didn’t believe that it would be
worth giving a sick old person a computer.”
(head of the care centre)

16. Positive change of inter-general
relationship: young volunteers
“ We have a lot of other plans (!!) for
her, I would like to continue intensive
voluntary work with Aunt K.”

17. Impact of Skype on daily life of older
people
 Positive mental change by 4th month!!
 “Uncle A. has opened up like a rose.” (head of the
care centre)
 “Uncle A. seemed to be a well-balanced, confident,
communicative, optimistic person
 social
work student not knowing that he
received previous mental care
 No more suicide attempts
 End of loneliness
 New goal
 More colourful daily activity
 3-5 hours internet use - positive addiction

18. Skype as catalyst to acquire
internet skills
“ He (90 years old) listens to music every
day, reads the news every day online.”
 He received earlier mental care from the
home help!!

19. Important messages
 Successful teaching from the most basic level
(switching the computer on and off)
 Learning Skype very quickly
 Pace of learning differed, but all reached a similar
level by 4th month
 Internet: satisfaction of wide variety of desires and
interests
 Desire for permanent learning
 Problem: not to use Skype but learn new functions
of internet

20. Social inclusion
 New customs: e.g. shopping on the net, watching
soap operas online
 New words (google, facebook, chat, surf, email,
etc.)
 Old word with new content (virus, mouse, library,
window)
 Need of helpers to learn, to catch up.
 Expanding personal network!
 Strong intergenerational relationship
 Strong intragenerational relationship

21. Possible uses for public policy?
 3 of the 23 districts of the capital are already
interested in the program and considering to
introduce it.
 New action research under development- 50 new
cases in the poor Hungarian region
– Goal: to explore how to implement the finding
in poorer rural areas among less educated
older people

22. Afterword: opinion of an old person
 “You ask what information technology has given me.
It has opened up the way to acquiring knowledge!
The computer has brought great help and constant
curiosity into my home. …I am doing research on my
family roots on the internet, tracing all the
complicated paths from 1311 right up to the present.
So far I have been able to put together a few
detailed biographies. I will have something to pass
on to my grandchildren. I conduct a lively
correspondence with my family members and
friends. We exchange photos and videos.” (76-year-
old woman) .”