Technology and Digital Connected Care Services: Towards the tipping point?

This Housing LIN practice briefing addresses the role of technology and digital enabled care and support services in meeting the current and future housing, health and care needs of older people, a pressing issue which will affect nearly every aspect of our lives.

The major developments in digital technologies – such as social media, digital communications, big data analytics, and smart homes technology – do not, to date, seem to have impacted significantly on the world of health, housing and care, and on people’s everyday experience of using these services at home, despite a lot of hype and excitement on the margins - with a few isolated exceptions.

Across all three sectors, there are many promising projects, pilots, and short-term funded initiatives, but very few true examples of transformation at scale. This seems, at first glance, puzzling, and inspires some pressing questions: ‘What are the barriers for widespread adoption of digital technology in housing, health and care services? What is the tipping point for digital in these sectors?’