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Description
A pressing issue faced by elderly individuals in Bulgaria is the limited access to specific health and social services, particularly in regions with unevenly distributed specialists and a lack of healthcare infrastructure. This disparity often leads to elderly residents neglecting initial symptoms of medical conditions due to the challenges associated with traveling to distant locations for specialized care. The uncertainty of which specialists to consult further compounds this problem.
Addressing these challenges with digital solutions requires not only the development of an online platform for service provision but also a deep understanding of the need for user-friendly accessibility, particularly for elderly individuals. In today''s highly digitalized world, the elderly often experience social exclusion due to their limited digital literacy.
In response to these challenges, ICYGEN proposes an innovative project to develop a prototype platform for remote access to social and health services, fostering social inclusion for elderly citizens. This project aims to bridge the accessibility gap for remote areas lacking such services. The Remotely Administered Social Services (RASS) platform will provide users aged 65 and above with convenient access to a wide range of services, including initial consultations, follow-up appointments with various specialists, and quality ratings. The ultimate goal is to improve the elderly population''s connection to vital services and enhance their overall social inclusion.
Summary of project results
The tendency regarding the current Bulgarian demographic crisis is not expected to decline in the near future - it is observed a continuous population drop and reduced percentage of the working-age population. With a growing population of older and disabled adults, people with limited mobility, people with at least one chronic disease, individuals using mental health services and people that need specific care, similar to other EU Member States, Bulgaria’s demand for welfare services is placing the social care system under huge strain. According to the latest official data from the Bulgarian National statistical institute, the share of the population of older age (aged 65 years and older) is rising and had reached more than 22% . Similarly, the share of the population over 80 years has increased from 3.9% to 4.9% . In addition to rapid population ageing, we observe an outflow of physicians and medical professionals due to emigration which result in large regional discrepancies and insufficient coverage in some fields, especially in the social service sector. Furthermore, considerable regional variations, imbalances and substantial disproportions for inpatient facilities are noticed in favour of more urban settlements. All of these factors lead to a growing percentage of vulnerable groups and limited access to welfare services and relevant information.
The project promoter developed a platform for remote provision of social services. The main functions of the platform will be focused on social services, care and offering online services to end users.
The welfare-technology service consists of the following:
- public part for the end user – a client’s application which enables users to access the services they want, to request a service, make reservations, provide calendar and appointments features, online consultations, payments, rating and feedback for the services provided.
- devices for the end user - provided to the end user to facilitate easier access to the service. This custom device provides simplified interface and is tailored for people with low technical capabilities and knowledge, elderly people, and people with special accessibility needs, thus they will have the opportunity to make appointments and conduct conference audio and video conversation through the devices with a specialist. The devices transmit information to the server, which collects, processes, and analyzes the results of the provided service.
- application for the service providers - possibility to add, view and edit data for the profile of the service provider and the service itself, list of subscribers. This application enables service providers to conduct consultations online, reach more customers and manage their appointments.
- server part – an administrative application used internally by ICYGEN to maintain a catalog of specialists, it facilitates the processes of qualification validation and quality assurance of the offered services, user profiles and data management, subscriptions, receiving feedback and analysis of the quality of the services based on the feedback.
The project outcomes respond to the identified need for new opportunities for the provision of remote social services, social care and increase their accessibility to society. This need for vital areas and citizens is vital, such as the elderly over 65, people with disabilities, people using mental health services and people in need of additional care, but not only that. For remote settlements and those without stationary service centers to offer such services and access to citizens, regardless of age group, to up-to-date information and opportunities, the developed platform satisfies these needs. The platform for Remotely Administrated Social Services (RASS) offers its users convenient access to information regarding a wide range of services, various specialists, quality ratings, time intervals, online payments and remote consultations. The groups targeted by the project largely cover the older population of the country. people aged 65 and over.
In the medium term, the project results will provide with modern technological tools to define, promote, measure and evaluate the quality of the social services sector in Bulgaria. It will have a positive impact on the quality of life of people in need, as well as social service professionals, following a global trend in the development of powerful technological advances in health and social services.
In the long run, it will achieve an increase in the standard of living of the target groups, which currently suffer from the lack of basic needs.
The innovative platform provides better cost-effectiveness for consumers, flexibility in employment planning and a better reach of human and technological resources - by providing access to more efficient and flexible social care and by facilitating quality social jobs, work force. This creates a care infrastructure that allows people the freedom to integrate work and life, social workers to achieve financial inclusion and stability, and employers to retain better and better staff and increase productivity