Increasing social interaction through health technology

Yetitablet supports motor coordination and social capacity

Validia-house in Porslahti, Eastern part of Helsinki, started to use the Yetitablet in the summer of 2018. The objective was to support the communication and working order of the inhabitants. The giant tablet proved to support group formation well and develop motor coordination.

This Validia house is situated in a peaceful and green area of Vuosaari and offers housing services for people with physical or mental disabilities and other people with a functional disorder or physical disability. Validia Housing is a builder of dignified living. The company invests in good customer experience and the continuous development of its expertise. The target is that every one of their clients can live as much of an independent life as possible.

The community sense between residents of different ages in the housing services is an important value to achieve. Although the primary goal for the Yetitablet use was that most of the residents learn to use it and its application content individually, the objective was also to increase the sense of community and social working order.

Yetitablet supports supervised activities

Yetitablet was integrated as a part of the supervised group activities as soon as the introduction period was finished. Supervised activities focused on the use of applications based on the requirements of the house and its inhabitants. Once a week inhabitants had quizzes, participated in virtual travelling or played various instruments. Music reviewing, movies and news were also popular among the residents. Instructors were also organizing dances, exercises with chairs and community singing with the Yetitablet.

The Yetitablet offers a versatile selection of applications and a wide variety of choices. Naturally, certain games were welcomed more than others and gained popularity among all inhabitants of Porslahti. These were for example solitaire, various quizzes, farm game and Word of Wonders, just to mention a few.

A giant tablet is a useful solution

Yetitablet has been popular with the residents and the solution was found to be useful for its users. The aim of the use was to have the residents learn through group activities to use the Yetitablet independently and this goal was accomplished. When the residents learned to use the Yetitablet, they were constantly approaching the device without any fear, and they felt the tablet was providing high amusement and entertainment.

One of the main benefits of the giant tablet that was noticed was an increase in the interaction skills and activity of the residents. The Yetitablet automatically supported group formation and the residents participated enthusiastically in discussions and joint activities.

Residents also spontaneously asked assistants to participate in the games and use applications with them together. They downloaded new apps independently from the Google Play Store and e.g. swapped the wallpaper on the home screen to their liking. The fact that Yetitablet supports the spatial and motor skills of the residents through a variety of applications was also demonstrated. Even for a blind user meaningful and suitable applications, such as Fingerpaint with Sound were found.

Yetitablet is used conveniently

When Yetitablet was taken into use in the Validia-house in Porslahti, the staff was worried that residents would spend too much time with the giant tablet. However, this did not happen.

Although Yetitablet is in frequent use, it has been used in harmony and peaceful coexistence. In the future, giant tablets are going to be used more and more as a communication tool within the house’s community. The Yetitablet would display daily schedules for everyone. It is also intended to be utilized in joint meetings as a means of assistance.

Together with the residents, it is considered to use streaming services to make the giant tablet fit for common film evenings. This means that Yetitablet becomes more deeply part of the community activities of the house and it will digitalize the processes of Validia-house in Porslahti even more.

About Validia

Validia Housing offers high-quality housing services for people with physical or mental disabilities and other people with functional disorders or physical disabilities. The company is a responsible, fully Finnish-owned enterprise and an affiliate of the Finnish Association of People with Physical Disabilities. The company’s ethical background is seen in its friendly and customer-oriented working culture. Validia Housing is one of the leading service providers and leaders in the Finnish field with almost 50 years of experience.