Generation Silver Surfer – WiFi in residential and nursing homes

If current studies are to be believed, older people have generally been coping with the pandemic more calmly than the younger generation. Nevertheless, the visitor bans in retirement and nursing homes, which have now been in place for many months, as well as social distancing rules, are taking a toll on mental health. Many senior citizens are being pushed into isolation and loneliness, as they are among the high-risk groups. At the same time, COVID is an issue that affects all of us, whether young or old, and everyone has to follow the rules. It may sound absurd, but it also gives people something in common—they are forced to reflect on what connects them and to make an effort to focus on it.

Where there is a desire for connection, there is exchange.

Especially during a pandemic, smartphones, tablets and laptops can play to their strengths compared to traditional phone calls. After all, being able not only to hear each other but also to see each other is particularly important for older people. As a result, a development that had long been underway was accelerated last year, but for many only truly came into focus with this crisis.

However, in Germany alone, 12 million people are still offline—95% of them are 50 and older. These people must be included and enabled to participate digitally.

People who remain excluded from internet access cannot take advantage of the opportunities of digitalisation and lose opportunities to participate.

Federal Working Group of Senior Citizens’ Organisations (BAGSO)

However, the hurdles are still high. The large number of different devices, possible applications and user interfaces causes confusion, and warnings about cybercrime can be deeply unsettling. Hardly a week goes by without warnings in the media, on one platform or another, or even in one’s own online banking account about fake emails or fraudulent phishing calls.

At the same time, very few of the current residents in senior living and care facilities can make sense of the cybercrime buzzwords, and not everyone even knows what a browser actually is. Digital skills also played hardly any role for staff in this sector just a few years ago—neither in training nor in job profiles or job postings. Then there are the technical prerequisites. Care and support facilities still lack these to a significant extent, as many senior citizens’ associations warn. Digitalisation has only reached this sector at the administrative level so far.

The seniors of the future are online

Today, the infrastructure for personal online access is unquestionably one of the basic needs of social life, and compared to earlier wired solutions, WiFi has clearly established itself as the standard even in private households. In nursing homes, however, things worked differently for quite some time. No wonder—until recently, older people had hardly encountered these new technologies in their active working lives.

By now, however, more and more residents own a smartphone, and notebooks and tablets are also becoming increasingly common. Driven by the desire for closeness despite the pandemic, the willingness to learn how video calls, web conferences and online chats work has also increased. While grandchildren explain to their grandparents how to use emoticons or join a chat group, software developers are working on intuitive, easy-to-use user interfaces.

According to Statistics Austria, 96,500 people live in Austria’s care facilities; in Germany there are more than 12,500 inpatient care facilities. Alarmingly few of them are equipped with comprehensive WiFi coverage. In the German federal state of NRW, the Housing and Participation Act was amended in 2019 so that the technical prerequisites for using an internet connection must be created, and expansion has been progressing steadily ever since. (Read more in our blog post Internet for Seniors – Legally Guaranteed.)

Removing barriers: Digital participation for everyone

However, simply providing internet access is not enough in practice. Access to WiFi must work easily and, above all, barrier-free. The first hurdles do not arise only with online banking or downloading a meeting app, but already when logging in to the WiFi portal. At the same time, staff resources must be conserved and caregivers and support staff—already overloaded as it is—must not be burdened with additional tasks. We technicians in particular often hear the first question when visiting our parents or grandparents: “Can you help me with my phone?”, “Why can’t I get online?” or “I can’t remember the password—what should I do?” Staff in nursing homes face similar situations, except they are not IT professionals. Providing a simple way to grant residents internet access—one that also takes the concerns of local system integrators seriously and remains manageable for them—is already a major step forward.

While the level of technical knowledge among citizens increases year by year from a certain age onward, the term Silver Surfer refers to a generation that has already learned to use notebooks, tablets and smartphones. Even so, constant change with updates, new interfaces, protocols, authentication methods, etc. can still overwhelm them. In addition, visual or concentration impairments are common, and motor skills can also become a factor at a certain age—so people may complain that everything is “too complicated”, happens “too fast”, or is simply “impossible to understand”.

Therefore, services must be created to promote the development of digital skills, ensure readability, and remove barriers—or keep them as low as possible. Initiatives already exist in some facilities, and non-profit associations have also committed themselves to enabling older people to participate in digital life and offer programmes. One example is the association Wege aus der Einsamkeit, which launched the project “Wir versilbern das Netz”. Explanatory videos on how to use a smartphone are regularly posted online, and courses are offered—of course via Zoom in these times when on-site visits are not possible.

By the way: It is not only residents and patients who benefit from functioning WiFi. While in far too many facilities patient data is still recorded on paper or noted on a notepad and entered into an electronic database after rounds/care, where available people already rely on the electronic patient record, which is filled in directly in the respective room via tablet. However, it is clear that this data belongs to a highly sensitive category and requires special protection. At the same time, senior citizens’ private online activities should also take place in a protected environment that does not leave them completely exposed to the risks of the digital world.

Special requirements for senior WiFi

This brings us back to the beginning: Simply making WiFi available to everyone is not enough. Internet access must be regulated, which requires comprehensive consulting and support services—ideally from a long-term, locally available partner that relies on European solutions.

Let us briefly summarise the challenges:

• Build or expand WiFi infrastructure
• Design access to be clear and low-threshold, yet secure and regulated
• Provide comprehensive consulting and support for facilities
• Offer simple interfaces for admins as well
• Ensure GDPR compliance
• Ensure long-term availability

Opportunities for integrators and resellers

The timing could not be better. Since digitalisation in this area is only just beginning, there is the prospect of comprehensive projects—there is a lot to do. Governments know this too and are putting together a wide range of public funding packages.
As already mentioned, there are 12,500 care facilities in Germany alone. Many of these nursing homes, residential homes and senior residences still need the entire infrastructure for comprehensive WiFi coverage—from the internet connection, servers, switches and access points through to the login page.

With IACBOX, we provide the right software for this: the IACBOX Silver Surfer edition—a module that specifically covers the needs of these facilities. Residents can use the internet via WiFi securely, barrier-free and in compliance with legal requirements. Thanks to a separate Surf-LAN, residents’ sensitive data remains fully protected, online access is secured and reserved for authorised users. The available bandwidth can be configured; if desired, a separate policy can be set up for visitors or employees using private or company-owned devices. Options to restrict and block certain services are available, as is protection against unwanted content. Building areas such as residential wing, lobby, common rooms, etc. can be assigned a separate login page and/or different login methods via VLAN or SSID.

Templates for the most barrier-free login page possible take into account eye-friendly contrast for better readability and a simplified page structure with input fields with a clearly recognisable purpose, enabling residents to use it independently. The role of admin users who need to create or manage access for residents has also been considered. Included templates and presets make it easier to keep an overview. In addition, there are clear instructions and how-to guides written in plain language for low-threshold access to the administrative tasks of a WiFi portal—for satisfied residents and relieved staff.

Have you, as a system integrator or network professional, already equipped care facilities or senior residences? Tell us about your experiences and the specific challenges in this area, and email us at service@iacbox.com.