eFamily Coach – A mobile-based intervention tool to support daily family life and parenting in family services
Coordinator: the Jyväskylä University of Applied Sciences
Duration of the project: 01.06.2010 - 31.05.2012
Project manager: Sanna Häkkinen
Sponsor: ERDF
Cost estimate: 204 270 €
Description of the project
The aim of the project is to develop, pilot and implement a new, mobile-based intervention tool and family service, eFamily Coach, to help families who need support and guidance in parenting and the spousal relationship. Furthermore, the effectiveness of the method with families in family counseling, family work and juvenile after-care is evaluated.
eFamily coach – An intervention tool in practice
This new family service model provides support for families’ daily life between their meetings with family counselors. Technically, eFamily Coach is a web-based program adapted for use with mobile devices. The web-platform contains targeted questions for different family situations and different family members (parents and children). The family counselor chooses relevant questions for each family from the platform and programs the times at which the questions are sent. Family members receive supportive and reflective questions as text messages on their mobile phones.
The client’s answers are saved to the database in real time, enabling the counselor to receive current information on the client’s daily life.
The benefits of the tool
The proposed intervention tool will enable family counselors to support and strengthen parenting, the spousal relationship and child wellbeing more effectively. This new way of working will activate clients and enhance their own responsibility over their family functioning. The new service model will also quicken and intensify the provision of assistance to families, as with the same resources more families can be helped than previously.
The aims of the project
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to develop a new mobile-based intervention tool to support families daily life
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to pilot its usability and effectiveness in family counseling, family work and juvenile after-care, and to clarify and resolve data security issues
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to create and evaluate the new family service model
The theoretical ideas behind the new method and questions draw, among other sources, on diary studies on daily family life and studies on positive parenting. The project is organized as diversified collaboration between JAMK University of Applied Sciences (wellbeing, technology), and the University of Jyväskylä. The other partners in the project are the municipalities (Jyväskylä and Muurame) and the software house (Movila Oy). The inputs provided by these partners connect contentual know-how about family phenomena, professional skills in the domain of family work, and knowledge concerning the application of mobile technology