Collect, organise, analyse and send information
ICT means information and communication technology: devices, software and networks that handle information. Good care needs the right facts at the right time. The facts move in four steps.
- Collect: get the facts. Examples: a sensor on a door, a wrist band that counts heartbeats, a form a nurse fills in, a call to a helpline.
- Organise: put the facts in order. Examples: a table with date, time and place; a record for each person; sorting by type.
- Analyse: look for patterns. Examples: average steps per day, a chart over a week, an alert when a number falls below a limit.
- Send: share the result with the right people. Examples: a message to the family, a report to a doctor, a notice to the community.
The loop then starts again, because the care plan changes with the new facts.
ICT in different welfare services
- Elder care: sensors for falls and movement, medicine reminders, video calls with family, online records for care visits.
- Disability support: screen readers and braille displays for blind users, captions and text chat for deaf users, voice control for people who cannot use their hands.
- Child welfare: helpline numbers, secure online case records, and apps that help schools and families share information.
- Health and nursing care: electronic health records, online video check-ups (telehealth), and charts of blood pressure or sugar.
- Community help: maps and messages to find volunteers, food banks or shelters quickly.
Helping older and disabled people live on their own
Independent living means doing everyday things in your own home, by your own choice. ICT can remove the small barriers.
- A reminder speaker says "Time for your tablet".
- A fall or movement sensor sends an alert only when something is wrong.
- A screen reader reads the screen aloud; captions show speech as text; voice control switches lights on.
- A video call lets family see and talk without travelling.
Rule: technology should support the person, not replace human care and not spy on them. Ask the person first and explain what each device does.
Managing personal information
Personal information is any fact that can point to a person: name, address, phone number, photo, health record, money details. Care data is very private. Good rules:
- Ask permission (consent) before collecting and before sharing.
- Collect only what you need. Do not keep extra.
- Share only with people who need it (family, doctor), never with strangers.
- Protect it: strong passwords, screen lock, separate logins for each worker, and back-ups.
- Delete it when it is no longer needed, and never post it on social media.
Many countries have laws for this, for example India's DPDP Act 2023, Japan's APPI and the EU's GDPR.
Try it: draw a care loop for your family
Pick one need, for example "Is my grandparent taking medicine on time?" On paper write what you would collect, how you would organise it, what you would analyse and who you would send it to. Then ask: "Did I get permission?" In the 3D, drag the "Steps today" slider and find the number where the alert line turns the bar red.
Key formulas and definitions
- Information loop: Collect → Organise → Analyse → Send
- Average = sum of values ÷ number of values
- Percent change = (new − old) ÷ old × 100
- Readings per day = readings per hour × 24
- Privacy rule: permission + need-to-know + protection
Worked examples
1. A wrist band records the heartbeat every minute. The app puts the readings in a table by hour, then shows the daily average and messages the doctor. Name each step.
Recording each minute = collect. Table by hour = organise. Daily average = analyse. Message to the doctor = send.
2. Steps on six days were 3,200, 2,800, 3,500, 3,000, 2,600 and 3,300. Find the average. Today she walked 300 steps and the alert line is 1,500. Does the system send an alert?
Sum = 18,400. Average = 18,400 ÷ 6 ≈ 3,067 steps. Today (300) is below 1,500, so yes, an alert is sent.
3. How big a drop is that? Use the average 3,067 and today's 300.
Drop = 3,067 − 300 = 2,767. Percent = 2,767 ÷ 3,067 × 100 ≈ 90%. A 90% fall is a strong sign something may be wrong.
4. Choose a tool: (a) a blind man wants to read his messages, (b) a deaf woman joins a video call, (c) a man with weak hands wants the light on.
(a) screen reader or braille display, (b) live captions, (c) voice control.
5. A sensor sends one reading per minute. How many readings are there in one day and in one week?
Per day: 60 × 24 = 1,440. Per week: 1,440 × 7 = 10,080 readings. That is why we need tables and charts.
6. A neighbour asks the care centre for Grandma Rama's heart data "to be helpful". What should the centre do?
Say no. The neighbour has no need and no permission. Only people who need the data and who Grandma agreed to (family, doctor) may see it.
Common mistakes
- Thinking ICT replaces human care. It supports carers; people still visit, talk and help.
- Collecting everything "just in case". Collect only what is needed for the care.
- Sharing data with anyone who asks. Always check permission and need-to-know.
- Using one shared password for all staff. Each worker needs their own login so we know who saw what.