Welfare technology
Welfare technology
Welfare technology
People with disabilities face societal obstacles that limit their opportunities to equal participation in society. Norway aims for full equality for people with disabilities, to ensure active participation and accessibility in everyday life and working life as well as social and economic security. Universal design is the preferred strategy and implies that the general solution is designed so that it can be used by everyone in an equal way. Individual adaptation entails taking measures to ensure that the individual can participate where the solution is not adapted to everyone.
Welfare technology can be described as "technological assistance that contributes to increased safety, security, social participation, mobility and physical and cultural activity, and strengthens the individual's ability to fend for himself in everyday life despite illness and social, mental or physical disability. Welfare technology can also serve as technological support for next of kin and otherwise contribute to improving accessibility, resource utilisation and quality of services. Welfare technology solutions can in many cases prevent the need for services or admission to an institution." (Stortingsmelding St. 29 (2012–2013) «Morgendagens omsorg», s.110)
Welfare technology can be individual products that the user handles himself, but in many cases there will be talk of a technology that is part of a larger context with e.g. physical environment, school/workplace as an institution, study/work situation, colleagues/teachers /fellow pupils, family and service apparatus (NAV/Ease of Access Centre/municipality/health service).
Especially for people with low vision, hearing or cognitive function, there may be considerable potential for new technological aids and new knowledge about how these can be included naturally in the working environment of the individual. The programme area welfare technology will increase knowledge about how people with impaired vision, hearing or impaired cognitive function can have increased participation in education and work.
Relevant thematic areas:
- Concrete solutions to compensate for reduced functional ability.
- Aids, facilitation and job degradation
- Importance of the use of aids on labour participation
- User involvement in service innovation.
Program areas
The collaboration is organized under four program areas, click on each area for more information
