„Fortune favors the brave!“ or “At least I can give it a try!“ With these words many residents expressed their high interest and willingness to participate in the EU-project DAPAS. As illustrated by the current corona crisis, this was a great idea, which very often also lead to a huge personal enrichment for participants and associated family members.
Most of the participants really benefit from the developed DAPAS System and the received tablet of the first rollout phase named ‘Starter Version’. With this tool, they can stay in very close contact with their relatives, even though the situation related to the corona crisis prohibits the face-to-face contact with others, including immediate family.
Especially Ms. Stojanivic is fascinated by the provided DAPAS system. She is a loved grandmother, who normally stays in very close contact to her family, especially her two granddaughters. She loves going on small trips with them, like e.g. visiting the annual local fair or having a great dinner together at special restaurants (see picture above). Therefore, the missing physical contact with her family is very tough for during these times. As a result, she asked her granddaughter to install the receiving app made for contact persons, so they can have regular video calls instead. Fortunately, Ms. Gspandl, the Red Cross caregiver, was always there to help with difficulties and managed to carry out the training on the participant’s side.
During a small interview, the enthusiastic granddaughter of Mrs. Stojanovic portrays some personal insights about her communication through the DAPAS video call. She also brings up some very interesting perceptions about how she perceives the closeness to her grandmother in times of strict personal distancing.
When did you start using the DAPAS video call with your grandmother?
We started communicate through the DAPAS video call as soon as the corona crisis has begun and the visit at friends and family was not possible anymore.
Who had the idea to use and test the DAPAS video call? Did you encourage your grandmother to use the video call?
No, actually my grandmother asked me to install the app, so we can talk and see each other regularly during corona crisis. Ms. Gspandl, the caregiver from Red Cross then kindly helped my grandmother to use and apply the app correctly. As my grandmother only has a “normal phone”, which is no smartphone jet, talking through a video call function was not possible before. Therefore, this system was really a huge enrichment for the whole family!
Tell us about your experiences you have made with the DAPAS video call so far.
The experience of using the video call was very positive and we can see that perfect face-to-face meetings are still possible, even without sitting next to each other, which is absolutely great!
What do you think about the usability of the DAPAS video call?
I was completely overwhelmed from the first video call on. It was great to see how easy it is for my grandmother to use the video call function and how much joy she feels seeing the happy faces of her family in such tough times.
How often do you and your grandmother use the DAPAS video call?
Well, at least once a day. However, sometimes we also use it several times a day in case she wants to tell me something important she forgot before or she just feels the need to tell me anything immediately that came up afterwards.
Does your grandmother use the video call also with other family members?
Sure, the whole family communicates with my grandmother through the DAPAS video call. She loves to call her son, her daughter in law and my sister anytime she feels like it – and of course, we all love that too!
Do you also use other communication functions of the DAPAS system, such as status notifications?
No, currently we are just using the video call function.
What do you like most using the DAPAS video call?
Seeing the glow in my grandmother’s eyes and her joy and feeling close to her family, even though we may not visit her personally.
Do you feel much closer to your grandmother compared to a normal phone call?
Sure, you cannot compare it to a regular phone call. With the video call, you can see all the facial expression and emotions she is experiencing during the call. With this, we feel much closer to her as during a regular phone call without video transmission!