Personal Carer: An Occupation Connected to the Future

Domestic work occupations, particularly personal carer, are drawing attention from many French citizens, institutions, politicians, and families regarding their role in society. The major health crisis facing the country highlights these professionals' commitment and responsibility in maintaining elderly and/or dependent people at home. But how do they experience daily life? What solutions can be provided? IPERIA, supported by CNSA (National Solidarity Fund for Autonomy), presents its first experiments through a digital application called RAVie.

"Being a Personal Carer Today is More Than an Occupation, It's a Way of Being"

When questioning these domestic professionals, primarily women, what strikes us most is the social role each assigns to their mission. Beyond housekeeping, cooking, or laundry tasks, they provide their elderly or dependent employers with a connection to the outside world. A complementary or substitute social link when families are far away, and residents live alone. "Sometimes, we're the only people they see," says Valérie, a personal carer in Corrèze. Listening and caring resonate beyond walls: "It's a role we take on, that's given to us, but isn't officially mentioned."

A Social Messenger Role, Breaking Isolation Contrasts with Their Daily Reality

Studies by IPERIA have shown that personal carers experience some of the highest levels of professional isolation among domestic workers.

For these home care workers operating independently, particularly in rural areas, there were previously no support hubs where they could meet, gather, share their daily experiences, and break their isolation. IPERIA and CNSA are committed to fighting this social void by offering personal carers opportunities to freely express their feelings or difficulties, find solutions, and share their knowledge and experiences, which are the fruits of skills enhancement.

"The RAVie App, an Alternative to Highly Popular Physical Networks"

France currently has 31 active networks. A growing number that, facing continually increasing demands, is no longer sufficient. An alternative and complementary solution to personal carer networks needed to emerge.

"We started from a simple observation: digital technology is everywhere, at work and home. However, we had no data on tool usage in the domestic work sector. Our teams thus conducted a study on digital technology use," says Fabien, Marketing Manager at IPERIA.

The first finding is the high equipment rate among personal carers. Indeed, 95% own smartphones, and 63% own computers. Regarding their usage, 90% use the Internet for emails or information searches, 88% for navigation via geolocation apps, and 63% for discussions on platforms like Facebook. A growing interest in networks indicates a desire for community, breaking isolation, or seeking practical occupation information, considered scarce on search engines.

Aware of these issues and needs—caught between a lack of reliable, secure information and a desire for sharing and exchange—IPERIA, supported by the CNSA, has expressed its intention to develop a free, accessible, and intuitive application open to all personal carers in France.

Creating a Smartphone Application, the RAVie App. Designed By and For Personal Carers, Its Principle is Simple: Connecting Them.

Ultimately, the RAVie application simply extends physical networks distributed across the territory, with added availability because it is accessible 24/7.

To your smartphones!