Digi-Ageing – overcoming Loneliness Erasmus Project

Project Title

Digi-Ageing – overcoming Loneliness

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for vocational education and training

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2020

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: Social dialogue; Health and wellbeing; Inclusion – equity

Project Summary

The project aims to support VET-Providers, Caregivers and the final beneficiaries, the elderly people, to find solutions in preventing and coping with loneliness with the help of dedicated Training, Counselling and digital Tools.
Loneliness is widely recognized as among the most significant and entrenched issues facing our aging society, which is sadly proofed by the actual CoViD-19 Crisis. The social isolation from the current COVID-19 pandemic triggers an ethical dilemma, especially for institutionalized older people who may be visited by a carer twice a day. Its importance is shown by the fact that this public health measure reduces the risk of infection, but that loneliness is the answer to emotional, social and existential isolation. The effects of loneliness can also be seen in negative health-related outcomes.

Loneliness is a negative emotion associated with a perceived gap between existing relationships and desired ones. The effect of loneliness is harmful to health and increases the risk of disability.
Through the development of a blended learning solution, caregivers will be empowered to identify and reach lonely individuals, to measure and to understand the nature of an individuals loneliness and to support them to access social contacts and appropriate services.
A partnership of 7 organisations (VET Provider and HEIs with continuing Training programmes) came together from 5 partner countries (Austria, Cyprus, Italy, Lithuania and Spain), all of them with longlasting expertise in the field of elderly care to develop a holistic approach to identify and intervene against loneliness.
Main products of the project will consist in five Intellectual outcomes:
IO1: Country Research reports on loneliness, specification book for diagnostic- and intervention-tools; including Country specific adaptations
IO2: Prevent-Loneliness Networks (real-life and virtual) and Policy Recommendations
IO3: Digital Diagnostic Tool on Identifying Loneliness
IO4: Digital Tool on Preventing Loneliness
IO5: Curricula for blended training programme on prevention of loneliness

Target groups and final beneficiaries are initial and continuous VET-Provider in the field of elderly care, (including HEIs with continuous VET Training programme for “in Service staff”), Elderly Care Centres, vocational educators in these centers, caregivers (nurses, social workers, etc) and elderly people themselves.
Within this project, also 14 head trainers will participate in a short term staff training to receive needed competences to deliver train the trainer programmes in their countries, at least 60 VET-Trainer and HEI lectures and will be facilitators of the blended learning programme and at least 125 caregivers get trained to use the tool. This will lead to a countable number of elderly people who will be supported to
overcome their loneliness.
As long term impact, this project pilots “Loneliness prevention Networks” as good practice for sustainable implementation, it enhances competencies on the use of digital tools in the elderly care sector and for elderly people themselves and to mainstream different efforts to combat the huge challenge of a lonely aging society.
And, not to forget the extraordinary importance of the projectoutcomes in times of quarantine caused by pandemics like in early2020.

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 289046 Eur

Project Coordinator

HAFELEKAR UNTERNEHMENSBERATUNG SCHOBER GMBH & Country: AT

Project Partners

• ASOCIACION CAMINOS – ASOCIACION PARA EL INTERCAMBIO EDUCACION Y DESARROLLO SOCIAL
• Consulenza Direzionale di Paolo Zaramella
• UMIT TIROL – Private Universität für Gesundheitswissenschaften und -technologie GmbH
• AGECARE (CYPRUS) LTD
• MYKOLO ROMERIO UNIVERSITETAS
• UNIVERSITY OF CYPRUS