DigiAssist - Digital assistance for people with disabilities living in supported housing
Project
“Digital Assistance” is a research project.
What do we want to find out?
We investigate whether and how people with disabilities who live in supported housing use the internet.
What is supported housing?
In supported housing, people receive assistance. These types of housing include:
- Outpatient supported housing
- Communal living arrangements
- Supported living with host families
- Inclusive shared flats
We have taken this list from the Theodor Fliedner Foundation.
How do we go about our research project?
We interview people who live in supported housing. For example, we ask:
- Do you use the internet?
- Do you use it on your own or does someone help you?
We also interview the carers. We prepare a questionnaire before these interviews.
Why are we studying people living in supported housing?
People living in supported housing have the right to support. That is why there are carers to help them with different tasks. For example, with shopping, attending concerts or visiting public authorities. The German Social Code refers to such help as ‘assistance’.
This assistance enables people in supported housing to take control of their own lives.
The internet is now an integral part of everyday life. Therefore, there must also be people who help with using the internet. We call this kind of support ‘digital assistance’.
Aim of the project
People living in supported housing have the right to use the internet. We want to find out whether they actually do so.
It may be that some people living in supported housing do not use the internet. If that is the case, we want to find out why.
We will then also look into whether digital assistance could help them.
We therefore have three objectives:
- We want to investigate whether people living in supported housing use the internet.
- If they do not use the internet, we want to find out the reasons why.
We will investigate whether and how digital assistance can help.
There are different types of digital assistance:
- Authorised assistance: The carer acts on behalf of the person being cared for, following their wishes.
- Digital support: Here, people living in supported housing use the internet together with a carer.
- Empowering assistance: The carer teaches a person to use the internet independently.
Research hypothesis
A research hypothesis is an assumption you make before the study begins. You need such an assumption to start the research. This assumption is then either confirmed or refuted during the study.
Our hypothesis consists of three parts:
- When people living in special housing use the internet, they participate more in social life.
- Some people living in special housing do not use the internet and lack digital assistance.
- There are various reasons for this:
- Digital assistance is not available in all special housing.
- Some people do not know that they can use such digital assistance.
By implementing this project, we are contributing to the realisation of the following United Nations Sustainable Development Goals:
Funding program
funded by the Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs
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