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Under Observation: The Interplay Between eHealth and Surveillance pp 73–90Cite as

Selling Passive Monitoring to Manage Risk in Independent Living: Frontline Workers in a Bind

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Part of the book series: Law, Governance and Technology Series ((ISDP,volume 35))

Abstract

Passive monitoring systems have been proposed as a way to revolutionize home healthcare. This study examines specific techniques social workers employ to urge older adults to adopt the QuietCare sensor-based passive monitoring system that monitors movements in residents’ apartments. Data were gathered from 49 in-depth semi-structured interviews in six low-income independent living residence apartment buildings where QuietCare had been offered for six years and where 98% of residents who were offered the system declined it. This study reveals how frontline staff members navigate the task of encouraging reluctant independent living residents to subject themselves to continuous sensor-based monitoring. Social workers employed a variety of techniques to pressure adoption and residents made constrained choices. Having to navigate this practice put these workers in a bind, caught between values of independence and risk management . This research suggests that it is important to understand what is at stake in negotiations over passive monitoring adoption and the potential for conflict between values of independence and risk management.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Social Work, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Clara Berridge

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  1. Clara Berridge
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Correspondence to Clara Berridge .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. TILT, Tilburg University, AB Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Samantha Adams

  2. TILT, Tilburg University, AB Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Nadezhda Purtova

  3. TILT, Tilburg University TILT, Tilburg, The Netherlands

    Ronald Leenes

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Berridge, C. (2017). Selling Passive Monitoring to Manage Risk in Independent Living: Frontline Workers in a Bind. In: Adams, S., Purtova, N., Leenes, R. (eds) Under Observation: The Interplay Between eHealth and Surveillance. Law, Governance and Technology Series(), vol 35. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48342-9_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48342-9_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48340-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48342-9

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