International Day of Older Persons October 1: St Louis offers our clients Digital Equity Support

The digital landscape has changed our lives permanently. The way we connect with each other, shop, pay bills, get directions and find information have all become accessible and easy, if you know how.

October 1 is International Day of Older Persons and the theme this year is Digital Equity. Most people over 65 have the internet at home, however the Australian Digital Inclusion Index (ADII) has ranked Australians aged 65 years and over as the most digitally excluded age group, so we have a way to go before this age group becomes comfortable online.

St Louis believes everyone has the right to access, participate, learn and communicate in digital technology. Having digital access and literacy is very important in the current world environment, and COVID has brought that to a head. At St Louis, we encourage our home care clients to use technology for their benefit, and we have clients who are doing creative work, connecting with like-minded social groups, or generally managing work and personal affairs easily and safely online.

Social inclusion and connection has been one of the benefits of becoming more digital savvy

One of the greatest benefits we have found in our clients becoming more digitally aware is that they have connected with online communities of like-minded people who have similar interests. Technology helps people combat loneliness and improves social participation. Our clients range from those who are tech savvy to those who have a total diversion to using it, therefore we tailor our home care support to meet people where they are in terms of levels of competency and comfort, to ensure it provides a benefit.

We have always been an advocate of technologies that connect people and were one of the first aged care organisation to adopt CareApp, a communication and social participation tool which shares images from social activities our residents and clients with their with families and friends.

How St Louis helps you to get online, and make it work for your benefit

Our goal at St Louis is to help our clients navigate the internet safely, and to use it to improve their lives. We understand technology use is not always the same for everyone and that it does not replace care but augment care. We find that a sustainable approach to digital equity for people over 65 is through gradually developing digital knowledge through a home care plan, ensuring there is ongoing reflection and discussion of how it benefits them.

A home care package can provide one on one personalised support to guide and ensure learning the digital landscape is a positive experience which includes engagement, entertainment, support, and social connection.

Personalised technology sessions

We’ll help you get online and connected to the services you want that will benefit you. We won’t give you technology and walk away, we’ll help you stay up to date and current online. We’ll do an ongoing review together to make sure you remain safe and comfortable using the internet and engaging with the various sources of information you are regularly accessing. Talk to your home care coordinator about arranging one on one personal technology sessions.

Join like-minded groups online

Technology is used by many of our clients to become more socially connected. We are especially aware of clients who don’t like to go out often and prefer to stay at home. This could be for various reasons, they may have lost confidence in their physical abilities, their spouse may have recently passed away or they may be shy and lack confidence. If we feel they are resistant to participating in social events and it’s not supporting their long term health and wellbeing, we do our best to gently help them become more socially active. Meeting new people is still possible when you’re older and we have many wonderful stories of clients making new friends at our face to face social events.

For some people, getting online and connecting with like-minded community groups has been a wonderful resource, alongside attending actual events. New friendships have formed and hobbies or previous interests have been revived.

We’ll help you find and engage in online communities that are of interest to you.

Using technology for entertainment

We have helped our clients learn to use SMART TV’s and other devices, or download Apps and websites that stream movies, TV shows, sports and other entertainment to view. There is a wide array of choices for home entertainment available today that can be confusing to navigate, so we will help you pick those that you’ll enjoy the most.

Call St Louis Home Care to discuss how we can help you get digitally savvier!

St Louis Home Care Coordinators are here to discuss your digital needs and help you become more comfortable online, and safely navigating the internet. We’ll discuss how you can use your homecare plan to become more digital savvy, so that you can communicate with friends, family, generate new interests, connect with like-minded people and more.

Please call St Louis Home Care in Adelaide and Victor Harbor on 8332 0950 for a confidential conversation about your home care package.

Want to learn more?

• Learn about St Louis Home Care
• See our retirement village page
• Read about the St Louis Nursing Home