Enhancing employability of older workers and caregivers through technology solutions
With funding from AGE-WELL, Canada’s technology and aging network (2020-2023), we are:
- deepening our understanding of employment barriers experienced by family caregivers and older workers
- contributing to the development of MatchWork, a cloud-based platform that empowers employment service agencies helping hard-to-employ people by ensuring it meets the needs of job seekers such as older workers and family caregivers
- extending MatchWork’s reach beyond Alberta’s borders.
Understanding Caregivers’ Needs
With funding from AGE-WELL, Canada’s technology and aging network, over the past five years (2015-2020) we have:
- deepened our understanding of family care across the life course and the health, social and financial consequences family/friend caregivers experience
- assessed the potential for Assistive Technologies (AT) to meet family/friend caregivers’ needs and goals
- understanding the Information and Communication Technology (digital literacy) skills of older workers and family/friend caregivers. ICT literacy and the role of assistive technology in helping older workers
- conducted a feasibility study to collect evidence about employers’ and their carer-employees’ experiences with and beliefs about how ATs can help them integrate, manage or balance paid work and care work roles. Connecting Working Caregivers Project Summary
- contributed to the development of Huddol, the first cross-disease, cross-platform, social health network that aims to help family and friend caregivers connect with each other and health care professionals
- mobilized knowledge by co-creating with older adults several illustrated short films that reflect common problems older persons may experience and designed things as potential solutions.
Sustainable Care: Connecting People and Systems
With funding from the UK Economic and Social Research Council (2018-2021) and in collaboration with the Sustainable Care team led by Professor Sue Yeandle at Sheffield University, we are:
- conducting a policy scan of carer leave policies in Canada
- comparing carer leave policies across 10 countries
- building capacity among the next generation of international scholars