Technology for Healthy Independent Living: Creating a Tailored In-Home Sensor System for Older Adults and Family Caregivers.
Erin L Robinson, Geunhye Park, Kari Lane and 2 others
PMID 32597999WHAT IT FOUND
Older adults and family caregivers want home health sensors to send alerts to providers, but worry about cost, smartphone access, privacy, and interpreting health messages.
Key findings
01Participants wanted fall and health alerts to go to health care providers, and they wanted to share sensor data with multiple family members, friends, and neighbours.
02Participants said fall alerts were easy to interpret, but other health messages were unclear, so they wanted providers to help decide how to respond.
03Older adults were neutral to somewhat likely to use the technology, while family members were somewhat likely to very likely.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for RNs
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What it does not show
The study included only 23 older adults and 5 family members, and the older adults were mostly female (87%) and White (91%), so it may not reflect other groups. Older adults were recruited from independent living facilities, including two affordable housing units, so results may not apply to people living alone without facility support or with different housing and technology access. Family members were all daughters, so other caregiver roles may have different preferences. The paper reports focus group preferences and concerns, not tested health outcomes, usability results, or whether sensors changed care. Adoption scores were written answers after a demonstration, not evidence of actual use or benefit.
Declared interests
Dr. Skubic reports small ownership in Foresite Healthcare, has a patent licensed to Foresite Healthcare, and has a pending patent licensed to Foresite Healthcare. The remaining authors disclosed no conflicts.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read this as evidence that in-home sensors improve health or reduce falls. The study reports focus group preferences and concerns, not tested outcomes or usability results.