A Essén

Dr A Essén, School of Business, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden; aes@fek.su.se

QUESTION

How do older people who live with telemonitoring devices feel about their privacy?

DESIGN

In-depth interviews.

SETTING

Participants’ homes in Sweden.

PARTICIPANTS

A purposeful sample of 17 participants 68–96 years of age (53% women) who had been monitored for at least 6–7 months by a telemonitoring device, lived alone, and were exposed to potential health risks in their own homes.

METHODS

In-depth, face-to-face interviews were conducted, each lasting 90–120 minutes. Questions were asked about participants’ experiences with their telemonitoring devices followed by a discussion of privacy and privacy threats. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, translated, and analysed for themes using an iterative process; notes were taken on non-verbal cues (ie, appearance, anxiety).

MAIN FINDINGS

2 contrasting perspectives were found. (1) Care surveillance as enabling (n = 16). Most participants with telemonitoring devices felt privileged and cared …