Telecare has been an approach to care that, internationally, has experienced a generally rapid development during the last ten years. There are many examples of successful pilot projects where ICT applications have been used in the care of elderly: for improved remote consultation with health professionals, to improve the communication and support of the elderly person’s social network, and as intelligent sensors intended to improve the safety of the elderly person. Despite these successes, implementation has been slow. This research project was set up to provide additional knowledge on some of the important questions regarding quality and implementation aspects of the use of ICT application on the care of frail elderly persons. The overall aim of the research project is to illuminate reasoning and experiences of using applications of telecare for frail elderly persons. The research project comprised five studies that were conducted using qualitative research methods. Four of them were carried out within the framework of three telecare projects. Different qualitative research approaches such as content analysis, phenomenological hermeneutics and conversational and discourse analysis were used, in accordance with the research questions of each study. The experiences revealed in the findings of the studies indicate that it is possible to have communication of good quality via videoconferencing with frail elderly persons, even those that have mild or mid-level dementia, provided the conditions are right. Technical limitations of the videoconferencing media in transferring communication cues and the limitations on what the camera can expose place special demands on those communicating with the frail elderly and on the general setting. On the other hand, these limitations on the context of interaction in some situations also seem to be an advantage for demented elderly persons and contribute to increased attention. One example of meaningful remote communication with frail elderly persons was family members’ videophone conversations with their demented relatives when they were placed in nursing homes or homes for respite services. This communication gave new possibilities of being involved in caring for, and of maintaining a relationship with, their demented relative. An introduction of teleconsultations in the care of frail elderly persons will, according to the experiences recorded, affect the professional role and the practical spheres of involved health professionals. The perceptions and experiences of participating health personnel indicate that in order for ICT applications to become valuable assets in the care of frail elderly persons they have to be part of a care alternative that is viewed by all concerned as the best alternative, as a whole, for all affected parties. Further research is needed in order to confirm or refute the findings of this thesis and in order to further broaden our understanding of the use of ICT applications in the care of frail elderly persons. This could facilitate a development of ICT applications suitable for the care of frail elderly persons and their introduction into regular care activities, to the benefit of both the frail elderly persons and their carers.

[pt] O uso de modelos de aprendizado de máquina se tornou ubíquo para um leque diverso de tarefas. Contudo, ainda não há nenhuma forma estabelecida para refletir sobre questões éticas em seu processo de desenvolvimento. Neste trabalho, realizamos um estudo qualitativo para avaliar duas técnicas propostas pela literatura para auxiliar desenvolvedores a refletirem sobre questões éticas relacionadas à construção e uso de modelos de aprendizado de máquina: (i) Model Cards; e o (ii) Template Estendido de Metacomunicação. Apresentamos nossos resultados a respeito do uso do Model Card pelos participantes, com o propósito de entender como esses atores interagiram com a ferramenta, assim como a dimensão ética de sua reflexão durante nossas entrevistas. Nosso objetivo é melhorar técnicas para desenvolvedores disponibilizaram informações sobre seus modelos e que a reflexão ética sobre os sistemas que desenvolveram. Além disso, nosso trabalho tem como objetivo contribuir para o desenvolvimento de um uso mais justo e ético de sistemas de aprendizado de máquina. / [en] Machine learning algorithms have become widespread for a wide array of tasks. However, there is still no established way to deal with the ethical issues involved in their development and design. Some techniques have been proposed in the literature to support the reflection and/or documentation of the design and development of machine learning models, including ethical considerations, such as: (i) Model Cards and (ii) the Extended Metacommunication Template. We conducted a qualitative study to evaluate the use of these tools. We present our results concerning the use of the Model Card by participants, with the objective of understanding how these actors interacted with the relevant tool and the ethical dimension of their reflections during our interviews. Our goal is to improve and support techniques for developers to disclose information about their models and reflect ethically about the systems they design. Furthermore, we aim to contribute to the development of a more ethically informed and fairer use of machine learning.