Mattia Pistolesi

To answer the question “How will technology change people’s Home Care in the next 20 years?”, a hybrid approach called Human-Centered Foresight was used. It allowed the multidisciplinary research team to define a road map with medium- and long-term goals from today until 2041.

The progressive aging of the global population represents, on one hand, an achievement of modern society and, on the other, one of the main socio-economic challenges for healthcare and pension systems. A direct consequence is the increase in chronic-degenerative diseases, resulting in rising care costs that heavily impact the economic sustainability of healthcare systems. Parkinson’s disease (PD) is among the most common degenerative disorders of the central nervous system. Since the incidence of PD increases significantly with age, it is expected to continue rising in the future. Estimates indicate that in 1990 there were approximately 2.5 million confirmed cases of people with PD, increasing to 6.1 million in 2016, and projected to reach about 9 million in 2030 and 13 million in 2040 [1][2]. The general objective of this research program was to define design guidelines aimed at identifying the main areas of difficulty experienced by people with PD during daily life and social activities within the private home environment. Ultimately, the goal was to define design solutions that ensure maximum accessibility, usability, safety, and comfort in the domestic environment, including its furnishings and equipment.

Home care aims to meet people's social and health needs at home by delivering appropriate and high-quality home- based health care and social services by formal and informal caregivers, with the use of technology as needed, within a well- rounded and accessible continuum of care. A group of researchers of The Italian Society of Ergonomics and Human Factors (SIE) conducted a Strategic Foresight study to propose a preferred scenario for home care in the next 20 years. Human- Centred Foresight, a hybrid survey methodology, was used. This method will result in the creation of a roadmap and human-centered system design that will outline the short-, medium-, and long-term goals for the period from now to 2041.

Made-in-Italy companies, capable of producing products of the highest quality and of imposing themselves on markets at the international level, have always strived to transfer into design innovation a non-reproducible cultural and productive heritage. A distinctive feature of a production system based on “know-how” is the strong connection between different companies within the same territory and the presence of excellent workmanship and established production traditions, impossible to recon- stitute in contexts other than the original one. Like many Italian regions, Tuscany is characterized by craft excellencies that have contributed significantly to the cultural and economic growth of the region. Many of these, however, fail, due to economic size and cultural background, to keep up to date with the ever-changing demands of a market that wants new products, access to new technologies and attention to sustainability and the life cycle of each product. On this basis, we outline the key role of design as a tool and driver for innova- tion, capable of guiding the company’s strategic choices, including in relation to the sustainability of products and processes. This paper presents the research project “Art, Design and Enterprise for New Young Talents” aimed at proposing and developing new training and production patterns and processes through the placement of young talents, designers and artists, within companies in the Tuscan territory. In fact, putting young creatives in contact with companies can help companies in the path of research and innovation and allows young artists to translate the theoretical framework acquired into a finalized design.

Background: L'evoluzione tecnologica attuale ha collegato il paziente ai medici e alle strutture sanitarie per alcune attività di indagini e monitoraggio direttamente al domicilio grazie a dispositivi sempre più sofisticati. Le limitazioni alla mobilità dovute alla recente pandemia hanno favorito l'utilizzo di strumenti già disponibili a medici e pazienti, e accelerato lo sviluppo di progetti in corso. La Società Italiana di Ergonomia e fattori umani (SIE), a settembre 2021, ha creato un gruppo di lavoro multidisciplinare per ipotizzare la forma dell'assistenza domiciliare tra vent'anni. Lo studio ha integrato le metodologie Human-Centered Design (HCD) e Strategic Foresight (SF) cercando di identificare le tendenze che influenzeranno maggiormente il futuro ipotizzando possibili scenari. Metodi/Azioni: I ricercatori sono stati selezionati tra i soci SIE e professionisti esperti con specifici requisiti. Il progetto ha cercato di rispondere alla domanda: Come la tecnologia cambierà l'assistenza domiciliare delle persone nei prossimi vent'anni? Iniziando a porre le basi per una cultura dell'innovazione incentrata sulla persona e in grado di guidare la progettazione di nuove tecnologie per l'assistenza domiciliare futura. Il progetto ha previsto 7 workshop (8 ore l’uno) analizzando 5 driver fondamentali (tecnologico, sociale, ambientale, economico e politico) e applicando la metodologia Horizon Scanning, sono state analizzate tendenze e contro tendenze, l'impatto presente e futuro, delineando le basi dello Scenario Preferibile. Infine, durante la conferenza SIE 2022 è stata definita, graficamente, l'architettura dello scenario ipotizzato. Risultati: I ricercatori hanno sviluppato una roadmap dei 5 driver analizzati definendo che, affinché l’implementazione tecnologica mantenga la persona al centro del sistema di cura, è necessario fin da ora avviare collaborazioni solide e costanti tra professionisti sanitari e tecnici, cambiamenti nei paradigmi organizzativi delle politiche sociali, economiche e sanitarie, diffondendo una maggior consapevolezza sull’interazione che i driver possono sviluppare reciprocamente. Se, da un lato, la classe politica ed economica deve avviare concrete scelte organizzative di ampio sviluppo e azioni di consolidamento dell'esistente, dall'altro è necessario implementare una nuova cultura sanitaria e sociale tra gli utenti e gli operatori del settore, sviluppando diverse e capillari attività di formazione e informazione specifica. Conclusioni: La costruzione di scenari futuri sul tema dell'assistenza domiciliare è di ampio interesse e comprende attività anche al di fuori del settore sanitario, come ad esempio diverse categorie di prodotti, servizi, arredamento, nei quali dovranno essere integrate tecnologie di raccolta dati e monitoraggio. Contestualmente sarà necessario ampliare la professionalità degli operatori sanitari per portare al domicilio degli utenti le competenze più adeguate. Anche i sistemi di trasporto e comunicazione dovranno essere allineati alle nuove modalità di interazione. Perché tutto ciò sia futuribile è necessario, fin da ora, avviare la costruzione di scenari futuri utilizzando le metodologie dello Strategic Foresight e dello Human Centered Design, avviando nuovi processi decisionali politici, economici e organizzativi, permettendo alle aziende (sanitarie e produttive) di attuare strategie a breve termine ed essere pronte a fornire servizi e prodotti adatti alle esigenze della società che verrà.

Inclusive Design is an approach to design that aims to meet the needs of the widest possible audience, regardless of age and ability, through the realisation of products and services. This approach puts users at the centre of the design process, which means working with people rather than working for them. This article focuses on the application of Inclusive Design and Human-Centred Design approaches specifically aimed at Parkinson’s disease. Through the analysis of a design case, the article describes the applied methodology aimed at solving the challenges posed by Parkinson’s dis- ease through the design of an inclusive home environment. The case study shows how the Inclusive Design mindset favours a holistic and creative approach, capable of bringing together different user groups throughout the various stages of the design process.

Technologicalevolutionhasmadeavailabletoolscapableofconnect- ing the patient to treating doctors and health facilities for ordinary activities and carrying out medical investigations directly at the patient’s home, thanks to increasingly sophisticated devices. The restrictions on the movement of people due to the COVID-19 pandemic have encouraged the use of tools already available to doctors and patients but have also accelerated the development of ongoing projects. The Italian Society of Ergonomics and Human Factors SIE has created a multidisciplinary working group that has tried to imagine the shape of home care in the next twenty years. The study is based on integrating the “Human-Centered Design” and “Strategic Foresight” processes. According to their skills, the eight researchers have tried to identify the trends that will most influence the future, designing the possible scenarios in which home care will take place.

Health and well-being, two concepts that are very similar but have different meanings, are well-known and debated topics, addressed with more or less specificity by all sectors (governments, public and private institutions, universities, SMEs), but they turn out to be, even today, as topical as ever. Issue 26 of the Rivista Italiana di Ergonomia, however, wishes to extend the concept of health not only to human beings, but to all living beings, to the planet in other words. If it is true that the health of humans and that of the planet today are more intertwined than ever, then the climate change and environmental crisis as a component of the Anthropocene, the current conflicts, and the new ones the Covid-19 global pandemic , the ageing and increasing world population, deaths in the workplace and finally the phenomenon of migration, represent a threat in the near future that could affect our health and well-being, and that of the planet on which we live. The scenario we have just described highlights upcoming and future challenges that need to be studied and addressed. The future is bound to hold many surprises in store for us, for which we must prepare ourselves from a social, cultural, and technological point of view. Thanks to technological progress to research in its most gen- eral sense, these challenges can be solved. Change is already taking place. The articles that follow, contained in this new issue of the Rivista Italiana di Ergonomia, focus on these themes, objects, technologies and the built environment, stimulating and fuelling debate, discussion and reflection on the role of ergonomics in promoting health, personal and social well-being, and the well-being of the entire ecosystem.

In today’s society, the social inclusion concept embraces numerous aspects and contexts of everyday life. Inclusive Design, going far beyond the design of products/services, plays a crucial role in fostering the inclusion of individuals within society and improving their living conditions. Inclusive design, however, must ensure a more humane and conscious design process that does not limit its attention solely to artefacts’ usability requirements but allows for the inclusion and evaluation of the emotional effects associated with interacting with them. This aspect is of particular importance in the case of products and environments aimed at vulnerable, elderly or disabled people, which can induce a perception of threat and stigmatize their physical and mental condition. Therefore, the work proposed in this article presents the results that emerged from the “Home Care Design for Parkinson’s Disease” research project. Through literature review, it was possible to analyse the contribution of technologies in generating pleasurable sensory experiences, but above all, to investigate the role of Emotional Design, Empathic Design and Evidence- Based Design approach. They can play a role in enabling the resolution of problems related to environmental, perceptual-sensory and stress factors and, in some cases, in slowing down the course of the disease, ensuring greater well-being. Therefore, the research work, developed through the application of Human-Centered Design methodologies, aims to: -define Design Guidelines to identify people with Parkinson’s disease needs and difficulties within the home context; - propose design solutions and future intervention scenarios that can improve their quality of life, their families and caregivers.

The management of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease is skewed toward acute hospital care. Guidelines indicate early identification and prompt treatment of exacerbations and prevention of the development of future exacerbations by lowering hospitalization as priorities. Presented here is the design of a stepwise remote patient monitoring service to manage escalation to three levels of worsening