Care and STEAM education
While the number of studies on care itself has increased, research that uses ‘care’ in the title has also rapidly increased, or 2,918 STEAM studies (1.08%) as per our results.
Engineering principles and practices can be used to advance system reform and the implementation of science. While men are underrepresented in community roles as traditionally occupied by women—such as careers in healthcare; early childhood education; and domestic roles, including child care—the promoting of equal opportunities for both women and men requires a better understanding of the psychological barriers to men’s involvement in these roles [12]. Conversely, a considerably higher proportion of women work in non-STEM jobs than men [13]. Women, minorities, and persons with disabilities are all vastly underrepresented in STEM fields [14].
The acknowledgment of nursing as a STEM profession could potentially provide more funding for nursing education within the United States and address nursing shortages, both clinically and academically. It has also been observed that technology involves scientific knowledge that requires the use of equipment and machinery [15]. Similarly, nursing is a rapidly increasing field within engineering and technology research, and should continue to increase in the future.
As care impacts everyone’s life, then applying the STEAM fields for care can potentially ensure that everyone develops equally. Thus, we focus on care engineering to possibly contribute to human development.
Characteristics of care technology and engineering by decade
This study focused on the ‘TE’ in STEAM, or specifically, technology and engineering. These fields are characterised by ‘new’, ‘improve’, and ‘use’ keywords, which were often used in the titles of articles on care and technology or engineering. ‘Medical’, ‘cost’ and ‘system’, ‘information’ and ‘assessment’, and ‘primary’ have been newly extracted terms in every decade. For example, ‘medical care’ and ‘healthcare’ were widely used until the 1970s, with ‘home care’ in the 1980s, ‘critical care’ and ‘intensive care’ in the 1990s, and ‘patient care’ and ‘primary care’ in the 2000s. In the 2010s, there were compound languages of care.
The text of the oldest paper was unavailable, as it was published in 1921, but the title involved official health care in epidemiology [16]. The next oldest were two articles. The development of biomedical engineering has indicated that care is important not only in hospitals, but also in homes and communities [17]. Further, one paper suggested that care in the operating room and hospital room with technology related to sterilisation [18].
Person-centred care has been emphasized since the 1980s. Wildevuur et al. [19] observed that person-centred information and communication technology (ITC) enables the patient to actively participate in health management and decision-making processes, and interact directly with the medical provider and their services. Specifically, words related to the point of care, home care, self-care, the quality of care, and palliative care increased in the 2010s. Given this background, miniaturisation and operability have improved due to advances in medical devices and information and communication technology, and it has become possible to use it for more familiar diagnoses and medical treatment.
In the future, this will more deeply relate to individual intentions and mental health, such as symptoms and electronic decision support [20]. Subsequently, the expectations for technology will continue to increase to improve the quality of care in various ways to meet target populations’ needs.
Care engineering and technology
The co-occurring network diagram in Figure 1 illustrates the quality support, care engineering, primary and intervention, medical care, human development, lifestyle, and social issues categories. Figure 2 provides a simplified conceptual diagram of these categories, or specifically: care-related health, technology, and information. An overview of the term ‘care’ in this context would imply that engineering relates to the human development. The problem of aging and dementia has recently grown, the acceptance of such technology is paramount [21].
A combination of care, advanced medicine, and machine learning can help reduce mortality [22], additionally, home care has progressed, and requires such high-quality support as primary care intervention. Although it has developed in various ways, this study provides a simple network diagram to indicate that these types of care can also relate to each other as Figure 2. As we enter an information age in healthcare, digital health technologies offer significant opportunities to optimise both clinical care delivery and clinical research [23].
The use of technology in care includes such benefits as an improved quality of care. Health promotion by self-managing information and equipment are both expected, objective indicators, with such subjective effects as encouragement. Addressing the subject of care technology and engineering will contribute to patient-centred and palliative care while promoting people’s health.
The possibilities for care engineering
Historically, care has been relegated to women—for example, mothers caring for children, nurses for the sick, or wives for the house. In other words, care is both a valuable and necessary part of living with and alongside others [24]. Human dignity is a dominant value that is respected and implemented everywhere in caring science and practical care; therefore, every human being has a right to be treated as a unique individual in care, and the care should aim to promote health, alleviate suffering, and tend to the living or dying. This fundamental essence of caring science aligns with that of technology given the perspective of this ethical dimension [25]. The field of care or engineering has previously been skewed towards interest. This relates to social issues, and especially health. While it may be difficult to safely implement the science and technology of care in this biased field of interest, STEAM education—as a well-known field—could contribute to the development of both equipment and humanity.
Gelting et al. [26] indicated that the branch of engineering that has been known at various times as sanitary engineering, public health engineering, or environmental engineering has been integral to the emergence of public health as a distinct discipline. Care engineering would also be needed given its focus on human development and quality care, and everyone involved in these processes. This study illustrates the process by which care in advanced medical and healthcare systems have collectively developed. Additionally, and based on societal changes, the focus of care has progressed to become patient-centred. Currently, Care engineering and STEAM education are not sufficiently linked. By systematising it as care engineering, this field can face the modern issues with care. For instance, human development and the quality of care itself are expected to increase, while new developments should consider the care perspective.
The 2020s will signal an increase in papers on care, artificial intelligence (AI), and robots in countries worldwide. However, this study did not choose, as future research based on new keywords will also be required; this study’s search for ‘technology’ includes various meanings of the word. Further, it will be necessary to analyse the knowledge developed in peripheral fields, such as welfare engineering.
Conscious of the future of care, the STEAM field will ultimately create new artefacts based on conventional research and development. However, the care or STEAM sectors retain some gender bias, and thus, will also need to raise awareness about STEAM and ethics. This study proposes a new field in which care engineering will be realised through manufacturing or tangible or intangible objects through mutual growth from developers, supporters, and patients. Based on changes in society, the focus of care has also progressed. As the use of technology and research on improving the quality of care are expected to advance, systematising it as care engineering will evolve the field to face the problems in care.