Targets of DISCOVER
Due to the increasing number of older people in Europe, there is a growth in the demand for quality care. However, the government services can not meet all the demands. The expectation is therefore that family members will have to step in more and more. There will also be an increasing demand from already over-questioned healthcare professionals. At present, more than 100 million people in Europe care for a family member, a partner, a relative or friend. This number is expected to rise sharply.

 

DISCOVER was a European project aimed at supporting informal caregivers. It was performed by parties in Greece, Spain, the Netherlands and Great Britain. VayaV was responsible for the Dutch part. DISCOVER focused on improving the quality of life for caregivers and those who care for them by making optimal use of computers, internet and mobile phones. The emphasis here is on the more targeted search and unlocking of existing digital knowledge sources (websites), which are suitable for this.

 

DISCOVER enables informal caregivers with the final product to gain access to the information they need. A 'Portal' and a digital Knowledge Bank have been developed for this purpose. This has been extended with the possibility to exchange experiences, share knowledge and discuss challenges and questions.

 

In summary, DISCOVER is focused to

• improve the skills of informal caregivers in the use of computers and other technologies, to help them find information and gain new knowledge and expertise

• to help informal caregivers transfer these skills, if desired and possible, to those they care for

 

The DISCOVER project was successfully finished in early 2015. The new project "Leuk voor Elkaar" is in line with the experiences and products of DISCOVER.