Few experimental activities involving ICT were found in Italy, which mainly related to computerised assessment instrument for Integrated Home Care, telecare applications based on an extended view of social alarms and home automation applications improving safety and independence at own home. Some examples of innovative R&D activities are as follows:
Following the Government Action Plan 1994-96 "Safeguarding Health in the elderly population" a private pharmaceutical company (Pfizer) supported the so-called Reteargento Project, which aimed to make assessment instruments for monitoring the clinical and psycho-social situation of elderly people in need of care available through the Internet.
One of the major Italian commercial providers of social alarms service (Tesan) co-operated in various community based experimental telecare services.
In recent years, architects and designers started to pay increased attention into innovative housing and furniture solutions - based on the so called "intelligent building" approach - that can better cater for safety and independence needs of elderly people.
Several initiatives are ongoing to make elderly people familiar with personal computers, mainly for entertainment, cultural or relationship purposes. One good example is "Sportello Scuola Volontariato" in Milano, where students from high school - on a voluntary basis within a cultural programme of inter-generational exchanges - teach elderly people to use personal computers.