Mobile time banking on blockchain system development for community elderly care

Abstract

This study aims to develop a mobile time-banking system on blockchain (MTBB), which can track service transaction records for community elderly care via mutual service exchange. The MTBB was developed to enable organizations, either corporate-social-responsibility organizations or nonprofit organizations to issue proprietary time tokens to members who participate in the organizations’ volunteer activities. Database applications with smartphone apps integrated with MultiChain blockchain technology were developed. Metadata with the service transaction information are stored in the MultiChain blocks so that the transaction records are immutable and can be analyzed in the future. Cahn’s time-banking guidelines were applied in developing this MTBB with MultiChain blockchain technology integrated for tracking service transaction records. The study also combines one-to-one mutual service exchange with organizations which offer volunteer activities and issue proprietary time tokens. With the blockchain transaction tracking mechanism, all elderly care service records via or within organizations can be tracked and analyzed to show their alignment with some of the Sustainable Development Goals of the United Nations.