The place of surveillance technology in residential care for people with intellectual disabilities: is there an ideal model of application.

BACKGROUND

The demand for (care) services for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) is on the rise, because of an expanding population of people with ID as resources are concurrently diminishing. As a result, service providers are increasingly turning to technology as a potential answer to this problem. However, the use and application of surveillance technology (ST) in the care for people with ID provokes conflicting reactions among ethicists and healthcare professionals, and no ethical consensus has been reached as of yet. The aim of this study was thus to provide an overview of how ST is viewed by (care) professionals and ethicists working in the field by investigating what the ideal application of ST in the residential care for people with ID might entail.

METHODS

Use was made of the concept mapping method as developed by Trochim; a computer-assisted procedure consisting of five subsequent steps: brainstorming, prioritising, clustering, processing by the computer and finally analysis. Various participants (ranging from ethicists, physicians to support workers) were invited on the basis of their intended (professional) background. Prior to this study, the views of care professionals on the (ideal) application of ST in the residential care of people with dementia have been consulted and analysed using concept mapping. A comparison between the two studies has been made.

RESULTS

Results show that the generated views represent six categories, varying from it being beneficial to the client; reducing restraints and it being based on a clear vision to (the need for) staff to be equipped; user friendliness and attending to the client. The results are presented in the form of a graphic chart. Both studies have produced very similar results, but there are some differences, as there appears to be more fear for ST among care professionals in the care for people with ID and views are expressed from a more developmental perspective rather than a person-centred perspective with regard to people with dementia.

CONCLUSIONS

When it comes to views on using technology both in dementia care and the care for people with ID, there appears to be an inherent duality, often rooted in the moral conflict between safety versus freedom or autonomy. What is more, elaboration on abstract concepts often presumed to be self-evident, whether ethical or not, has proven to be difficult. How ST is viewed and apprehended is not so much dependent of the care setting and care needs, but rather whether it is clear to everyone affected by ST, what one wants to achieve with ST.