Elin Palm

Who Cares? Moral Obligations in Formal and Informal Care Provision in the Light of ICT-Based Home Care

An aging population is often taken to require a profound reorganization of the prevailing health care system. In particular, a more cost-effective care system is warranted and ICT-based home care is often considered a promising alternative. Modern health care devices admit a transfer of patients with rather complex care needs from institutions to the home care setting. With care recipients set up with health monitoring technologies at home, spouses and children are likely to become involved in the caring process and informal caregivers may have to assist kin-persons with advanced care needs by means of sophisticated technology. This paper investigates some of the ethical implications of a near-future shift from institutional care to technology-assisted home care and the subsequent impact on the care recipient and formal- and informal care providers.

A Declaration of Healthy Dependence: The Case of Home Care

Aging populations have become a major concern in the developed world and are expected to require novel care strategies. Public policies, health-care regimes and technology developers alike stress the need for a more individualized care to meet the increased demand for care services in response to demographic change. Increasingly, care services are offered to individuals with diseases and or disabilities in their homes by means of Personalized Health-Monitoring (PHM) technologies. PHM-based home care is typically portrayed as the key to a cost-effective future care that better can accommodate the needs of an aging population and promote care recipients’ independence. In light of the emerging technology-based home care, this article sets forth to investigate the significance and implications of a strong emphasis on independence in relation to this novel care form. Notions of independence as used by care planners, care providers and technology developers are examined in relation to ICT-based home care and the reasonableness of independence as an aim for future health-care is critically discussed. In conclusion, the need for a shift from a strong emphasis on independence to a right to healthy dependence is advocated.

Conflicting Interests in the Development of a Harmonized EU e-Passport

ABSTRACT Identity and evidence of identity in the form of identification documents, passwords, and codes are key features of the information age and identity infrastructures which are essential in delivering public services and in executing border-control measures. Although increasingly sophisticated, such infrastructures and digital identities are vulnerable to exploitation. Identity theft, offline as well as online, is a key concern for all law enforcement. Fraudulent use of passports from the European Union (EU) is prevalent and has been rather constant over the past few years despite enhanced security mechanisms in EU passports. In response, a harmonized EU-wide e-passport is currently under development, aimed at enhancing the security of identification processes and at stifling identity theft. In this paper, an assessment is undertaken, investigating ethical implications of the novel EU passport regime and how different stakeholders may be affected. It is argued that assessments should include the effects on third country nationals and not only on EU members.