Ageing and technology in the territories of the interior of Portugal

Abstract

The PerSoParAge project - Personal and social resources for autonomy and social participation in an ageing society, aims to develop proposals and tools for analysis and intervention that respond to the challenges of the aged regions of the interior of Portugal,starting from an assessment of theterritory, in Castelo Branco, Guardaand Portalegre districts. The consortium representing the project is formed by the Castelo Branco Polytechnic Institute, Portalegre Polytechnic Institute, Guarda Polytechnic Institute, Bragança Polytechnic Institute, Castelo Branco City Council and Idanhaa-Nova City Council. The project aims to know the processes and ageing profiles of the interior communities through multidimensional assessment with a view to defining their social, functional and available resources profile,as wellasidentifying the needs of these communities’ organizations. This paper presents datafrom the knowledge, use and potential evaluation component of Information and Communication Technologies by older people in the studied regions. The methodology used was predominantly quantitative, with resource to apply two surveys per questionnaire, one for individuals aged 50 to 64 years and the other for the population aged 65 and over. This instrument was specifically designed for this purpose, validated by experts, containing closed and open response questions. The analysis and discussion of the results will allow the construction of knowledge that responds to the challenges of demographic changes felt in the regions covered and the development of intervention strategies and territorial policies of ageing, namely solutions that promote the use of digital and assistive technologies, in order to improve the quality of life of older people and promote their integration, participation and involvement in the development of territories.