The Wellbeing Services County of Southwest Finland (Varha) is among several municipalities testing technology designed to help seniors live independently at home.
As part of the initiative, sensors are being installed on everyday home fixtures such as refrigerators, coffee makers, showers, microwaves, toilets, beds, and front doors. These devices help relatives and home care staff monitor daily routines, such as whether meals are being eaten, and assess how seniors are managing at home.
During the trial in Southwest Finland, it has been found that some home care clients manage with lighter services than previously thought, bringing savings to the welfare region.
Mari Pilpola, service manager at Varha, believes that in ten years, every home care client's home will have sensors.
"They don't replace people, but they provide a truthful picture of service needs," she said.
The government has said it aims to reduce costs in elderly care by expanding the use of technology. Starting next year, changes to the law will require care plans to assess whether a client's needs can be met with technological solutions.
Hundreds of thousands in savings
So far, only a few welfare regions have experience installing sensors in homes. Central Uusimaa Wellbeing Services County (Keusote) is the most advanced, having tested them with over 200 clients.
Sensors are usually used when an elderly person becomes a home care client, and it is being considered what services they need, said Anu Lucas, supervisor at Keusote.
According to Lucas, the sensors have allowed service needs to be reduced for 47 percent of clients, meaning these individuals have not required more intensive care than they would have without the devices.
"In our culture, there is still a strong tendency to do things just in case. If a nurse or relative is left uncertain about how an elderly person is coping, an extra nurse visit or some remote service is added just to be safe," Lucas said.
In Keusote, it has been calculated that the use of sensors can at best bring annual savings of hundreds of thousands of euros.
Experts critical
Professor of gerontology Marja Jylhä from Tampere University is surprised at the view that elderly people in Finland are being "overcared."
She noted that, nationwide, criteria for entering home care have actually been tightened, and the seniors receiving services are increasingly frail.
According to her, the criteria for entering home care have instead been tightened across the country, and the elderly within the services are increasingly frail. Jylhä added that she cannot comment on the Central Uusimaa situation specifically.
"The task of home care should be to ensure a good life for people in poor health. To put it bluntly, it sounds as if the task of home care is to ensure that people do not die at home, at least not in such a way that the welfare services would be held responsible," she said.
Jylhä supports exploring technology in elderly care, noting potential savings such as freeing nurses from documentation. She does, however, question how accurately sensors reflect a person's functional abilities.
"A person with dementia may open the fridge door as often as they like, but that doesn't mean they are eating," Jylhä said.
