Sustainability of Digital Home Care and Health Care Services in 2 Case Studies in Finland: Combined Climate and Social Impact Assessment

摘要

Background: Digitalization is seen as a way to reduce the negative environmental impacts of health care production, but research is still limited. Objective: This study focuses on the assessment of the sustainability aspects of digital services in home care and health care. It demonstrates the approach to identify the climate impacts and social impacts-both positive and negative-on a selection of digital home care and health care services, such as medicine robot services for older home care clients, through 2 Finnish case studies. Methods: Impacts are identified from interviews and statistical data collected from public service providers and technology suppliers using both quantitative and qualitative assessments. Results: While a well-planned and well-implemented digital service is likely to be a climate-friendly option, every digitalization action carries at least some negative impacts. The design, architecture, and practical implementation of these services greatly affect their climate and social impacts. Conclusions: This study uses a novel combination of impact assessment methods, highlighting the importance of qualitative understanding alongside quantitative approaches for interpreting results, especially when numerical data are limited. Advocating for multimethod impact assessments is crucial to properly capturing the service context and promoting holistic sustainability thinking.