StoryTime fits this challenge because it offers a real and simple solution to a current problem, but one that goes far beyond the isolation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. A problem that is chronic and has been debated for a long time by the scientific community and health agencies, the loneliness of the elderly. From our proposal we offer a way to increase the social connection between people and still transform the reality of the quarantine into something emotionally and psychologically positive. It's as the motto of our team says, "shortening distances, one story at a time".
During the brainstorm, the team focused on identifying the most vulnerable groups in this period of social isolation and from observing personal experiences and conversations with the community, we understand that the elderly, in addition to being living the experience of isolation, they continue to be bombarded with bad news and have dealt with the loneliness provided (and in some cases aggravated) by social detachment.
Although several actors are included in the process of using the application, such as children and those responsible for them, we chose to focus our efforts on the elderly. For the construction of our application we used data from NASA on the effects of prolonged isolation and social distance in humans as a basis to justify the project. We crossed the data with information from the World Health Organization and other competent bodies about loneliness in the lives of the elderly. For development we use the Figma tool, which is open and free.
We believe that the great effect is to bring two audiences together in completely opposite periods of life, for real interaction through an act as simple as telling children's stories.
Loneliness exists and social isolation only highlights this reality, and allow the creation of closeness and affective bonds in these conditions (which can remain so for a long time) and for this specific audience (the elderly) is to show concern for life, mental and emotional health, and also bring back bonds that, over time, so much technology and distractions, may have been lost – even if these are just "grandchildren" and "grandparents" for a few minutes.
In the not too distant future our intention is to combine the functionality of our application with the work carried out by the Centro de Voluntariado de Ribeirão Preto (Volunteer Center of Ribeirão Preto), who has had a project called “Hearers of Stories for the Third Age” for about 12 years now. Through it volunteers make visits to nursing homes and hospitals to hear stories and also talk to the elderly living in those places. The objective of this initiative is very similar to that of our product, which is to bring attention, affection and entertainment to the elderly and we believe we can join the volunteers in this mission. (It's possible to know their work in https://www.voluntariadorp.org.br/ouvidores-de-histrias.)
[NASA] ANSIBLE: A Network of Social Interactions for Bilateral Life Enhancement, Phase II
https://data.nasa.gov/dataset/ANSIBLE-A-Network-of-Social-Interactions-for-Bilat/x3ic-v679
[NASA] Measuring, Monitoring, and Regulating Teamwork for Long Duration Missions
https://data.nasa.gov/dataset/Measuring-Monitoring-and-Regulating-Teamwork-for-L/vvad-pbed
[NASA] Social Isolation and Space
https://www.nasa.gov/hrp/social-isolation
[The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine] The Health and Medical Dimensions of Social Isolation and Loneliness in Older Adults
https://www.nationalacademies.org/our-work/the-health-and-medical-dimensions-of-social-isolation-and-loneliness-in-older-adults
[The Journals of Gerontology] The Epidemiology of Social Isolation: National Health and Aging Trends Study
https://academic.oup.com/psychsocgerontology/article/75/1/107/4953727
[World Health Organization]Supporting older people during the COVID-19 pandemic is everyone’s business
http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-emergencies/coronavirus-covid-19/news/news/2020/4/supporting-older-people-during-the-covid-19-pandemic-is-everyones-business
[The New York Times] Just What Older People Didn’t Need: More Isolation
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/health/coronavirus-elderly-isolation-loneliness.html