Caring Futures: Developing Care Ethics for Technology-Mediated Care Practices

The world’s population is ageing. Older persons are dramatically increasing in number, with a greater disease burden in society. Policymakers in public welfare are concerned with the emergence of a corresponding resource deficit.

Increased efficiency and innovation are often presented as solutions to these new demands. The development and use of new technology are central aspects of these solutions. Proper use of new technology should facilitate care delivery without compromising care ethics in the relationship between users and professionals. However, the evidence on the ethical implications of technological innovation in current technology-mediated care practices is scarce. 

Identification of knowledge gaps in current care ethics

We have identified a discrepancy between society’s drive for new technology that is care-ethically ignorant – and an absence of technology-awareness within care ethical theory. The research project addresses this knowledge-deficit to secure quality care in a future with increasingly technology-mediated caring practices.

The project revisits care ethics in practice- and experience-near contexts, at a time of changing health, care, and welfare policies, services, and practices. Our principal research question is: how can technology-mediated care practices become care-ethically sound – and, correspondingly, how can care ethics become more technology-aware? 

Ensure quality of care in caring futures

This project benefits users in primary and specialist healthcare, welfare services, and society as a whole. The project safeguards that increasing the use of new technology in care corresponds with quality in care for users and professionals and its implications for practice, policy, and education. We will create a new care ethics paradigm to inform and ensure the quality of care in caring futures.

The project consists of four work-packages:

1. Digital assessment templates in the child welfare services (WP Lead Ida Bruheim Jensen, Institute for social work, Faculty of Social Sciences, UiS)
2. Professionals’ ideals and sense of self in technology-mediated care practices (WP Lead Ellen Ramvi, Department of care and ethics, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiS)
3. The impact of robots and other caregiving techno-bodies on agency and quality of care (WP Lead Ingvil Hellstrand, Department of care and ethics, Faculty of Health Sciences, UiS)
4. Management, design, and implementation of technology in care practices (WP Lead Brita Gjerstad, Institute for social work, Faculty of Social Sciences, UiS)

The project has been developed in collaboration between the research group Professional Relations in health and welfare and the Centre for Gender Studies at the University of Stavanger.