The availability and provision of care-related information and advice – and not least accessibility to this information and advice – have proven to be essential for the successful management of care settings. This is especially true for the large group of persons who receive care or are themselves active as caregivers in their own homes. Information and advice services help to ease the burden on caregivers and make it easier to plan and take advantage of appropriate care services. In this sense, information and advice services can impact the quality and stability of care arrangements, especially in the home.
Advantages of digitally supported information and consulting services
A major advantage of digitally supported information and advice services is their availability and accessibility. Digital care courses, psychosocial counseling and support services, or training courses on behavioral changes associated with dementia for informal caregivers, for example, are just a small sample of the many possibilities offered by digitalisation in this area. It is also conceivable that digital services could be integrated into the training of volunteers in care and assistance to a greater extent than has been the case in the past. These and other measures could enable outpatient care services, local authorities, care support centers, care insurance companies, and other civil stakeholders to use digital technology to provide even more targeted support and tangible assistance to those in need of care. The area of individual and collective (political) self-advocacy for people with care needs and dementia is equally suitable for the use of digital forms of support. The use of digital media and technologies opens up new opportunities to represent one’s own or community interests vis-Ã -vis other parties, even under difficult living conditions.
