The Remote Controllable Electric Wheelchair System combined Human and Machine Intelligence for Caregivers and Care Receivers

Thesis (Master of Science in Informatics)--University of Tsukuba, no. 41280, 2019.3.2

Transportation in Michigan: older adults and caregivers

Michigan Department of Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90963/1/102858.pd

Recommendations for meeting the transportation needs of Michigan’s aging population

Mobility, or the ability to get from place to place, is important for everyone. Mobility enables people to conduct activities of daily life, stay socially connected with their world, participate in activities that make life enjoyable, and increase their quality of life. In the United States, and indeed in Michigan, personal mobility is frequently equated with being able to drive a personal automobile. However, because of age related medical conditions and the medications used to treat them, as people age into older adulthood they are more likely to experience declines in abilities needed for safe driving. Because of the preference for the personal automobile, and the lack of acceptable mobility alternatives, one focus of efforts to enhance safe mobility for older adults is to keep older adults driving for as long as they can safely do so. At the same time, society has a responsibility to help maintain mobility for those who are unable or choose not to drive. As the population of older adults in Michigan continues to grow, it is becoming more and more critical that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) understand the mobility needs of older adults and incorporate these needs into transportation facility design and planning. This project provided the background information needed to help MDOT identify where to concentrate resources to maximize the safe mobility of Michigan’s aging population. The overall goal of the project was to help maintain the safety and well-being of Michigan’s older adult residents by developing a set of low-cost, high-impact measures that could be implemented by MDOT. This goal was achieved through a literature review, an analysis of demographic data, and statewide surveys of older adults and family members/caregivers for Michigan older adults in order to gain a better understanding of the travel and residency patterns, gaps in transportation services, and the transportation needs and wants of Michigan older adult residents and the population of adults who provide care and/or transportation assistance to Michigan older adults. The complete results of these research activities, a list of measures for improving older adult mobility in Michigan, and an implementation plan are included in this report.Michigan Department of Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/90961/1/102857.pd

Universal design and social care: Assistive robots as other users of the built environment?

The importance of designing architecture and physical environment using the Universal Design method so that all people have the opportunity to reside and participate in the environment has long been recognised. This design approach is even more important in housing for older adults and people with disabilities. However, even in environments designed according to universal design principles, the assistance of human staff is often necessary. We consider some of the routine and physically demanding activities of caregivers could be possibly replaced by robots. This would offer people who require care a greater degree of independence and relieve the burden on staff to give them more time for activities that robots cannot yet do. Robotics is a discipline covering various aspects of robot design and use. Apparently, numerous robots and robotic devices being developed for the social or healthcare sector, called Assistive Robots, are still in the concept, design or testing phase. However, this may change with the increasing investment in robotics and there is a need to be realistic about their possible use in the near future. Another considered robot type is a Butler or Service Robot which helps with delivering various objects including food or medicine. These types of robots require a barrier-free, accessible space to move around, similar to what people in wheelchairs or bedridden persons need for their movement and transfer. This paper publishes the results of a simulation of Assistive and Butler Robots in an extra-care housing facility, where social services with the help of robots are to be provided in the future. Manoeuvring of people and robots is simulated in a floorplan of the chosen model project of a family type house. Research aims to investigate the robots’ spatial requirements in a building project designed in accordance with universal design principles. The paper concludes with several answers to the questions posed and recommendations for the creation of residential buildings that support the symbiosis of humans and robots

Long-Term Care Challenges in an Ageing Society: The Role of ICT and Migrants Results from a Study on England, Germany, Italy and Spain

This report synthesizes and discusses the findings of a series of studies on the use of ICT to support caregivers providing Long-Term Care at home, with particular attention to migrant caregivers. The use of Information Communication Technologies (ICT) for health and social care is playing an increasingly important role in the context of the demographic changes. As, on the one hand, people are getting older and the need for care is increasing, and, on the other hand, the number of formal and informal caregivers is decreasing, technical devices are seen as a possible solution to this dilemma. At the same time, people in need of care and their relatives have a tendency to informally employ private care assistants, often from migrant backgrounds, to assist those in need of care in their homes with daily tasks, so as to avoid and postpone their transferral into institutional care. To better understand the current and prospective use of ICT to assist informal caregivers, and in particular those of migrant origin, JRC-IPTS conducted a series of exploratory studies, assessing the situation in Italy, Spain, Germany and the UK. This report gives an overview on the situation of domiciliary care in each of these countries; investigates the opportunities for ICT in home care and identifies drivers and barriers for the deployment of ICT by caregivers with a particular focus on migrant care assistants.JRC.DDG.J.4-Information Societ

Recommendations for meeting the mobility needs of older adults in rural Michigan

The populations of the United States (US) and Michigan are aging. This demographic trend will continue to have a significant impact on society for the next few decades, particularly in the area of safe mobility in rural areas. As the population of Michigan’s rural older adults continues to grow, it is becoming increasingly crucial that the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) understand the mobility needs and issues of rural older adults, including the issues faced by Indian Tribes in rural Michigan, and be proactive in addressing these needs and issues in their activities. This project provides the background and suggestions to help MDOT identify areas where they significantly impact the safe mobility of Michigan’s rural older adults. The overall goal of the project is to help maintain the safety and well-being of Michigan’s rural older adult residents by providing recommendations on how current alternative transportation services could be improved to be more attractive to older adults while addressing cultural and psychological barriers to using these services. This goal was achieved through a literature review, an analysis of demographic data, a statewide survey of older adults living in six rural counties of Michigan, structured interviews with public and community transportation providers, and group discussions with representatives of three Indian Tribes located in rural Michigan. The complete results of these research activities, a list of recommendations for improving rural older adult mobility in Michigan, and an implementation plan are included in this report.Michigan Department of Transportationhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/95709/1/102924.pd

Younger adults with severe physical disabilities in the Capital Region

In Spring, 1994 the Gerontology Research Centre at Simon Fraser University was commissioned to undertake a project that would provide the Health Planning Division of the Capital Regional District of British Columbia (CRD) with information that would facilitate strategic planning for younger adults with severe physical disabilities. The specific goals of the project were to: 1) define the pertinent characteristics of persons aged 19-55 with severe physical disabilities living in the CRD, including: their socio-demographic characteristics (age and gender distribution, education, marital status, housing and living arrangement, sources of income); health and functional status (diagnosis, level of performance of Activities of Daily Living and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living); and available social supports; 2) ascertain consumer preferences (clients and their families) as to the type and location of housing and support services they require; 3) critically review existing health and social service programs in the CRD and province, and policies targeted to/encompassing younger adults with severe physical disabilities, with respect to their ability to respond to the identified consumer preferences; 4) recommend the type and level of resources required to meet consumer preferences. To fulfill the commission, the following activities were undertaken: Phase 1. Literature Review - An extensive electronic literature search and review was conducted. Unpublished material obtained from the Ministry of Health and other contacts was also reviewed (see: Gutman, G.M. (1995). Characteristics, service needs and service preferences of younger adults with severe physical disabilities: Literature review. Vancouver, BC: Gerontology Research Centre, Simon Fraser University. OAI: http://ir.lib.sfu.ca/handle/1892/11440). Phase 2. Profile of Continuing Care Clients - Assuming that most younger adults with severe physical disabilities living in the CRD were known to the Continuing Care Division of the Ministry of Health, a client profile was constructed using information from 153 clients\u27 LTC-1 forms, the Division\u27s standard assessment form (see Chapter 2 of this report for findings)

Accessibility of Health Data Representations for Older Adults: Challenges and Opportunities for Design

Health data of consumer off-the-shelf wearable devices is often conveyed to users through visual data representations and analyses. However, this is not always accessible to people with disabilities or older people due to low vision, cognitive impairments or literacy issues. Due to trade-offs between aesthetics predominance or information overload, real-time user feedback may not be conveyed easily from sensor devices through visual cues like graphs and texts. These difficulties may hinder critical data understanding. Additional auditory and tactile feedback can also provide immediate and accessible cues from these wearable devices, but it is necessary to understand existing data representation limitations initially. To avoid higher cognitive and visual overload, auditory and haptic cues can be designed to complement, replace or reinforce visual cues. In this paper, we outline the challenges in existing data representation and the necessary evidence to enhance the accessibility of health information from personal sensing devices used to monitor health parameters such as blood pressure, sleep, activity, heart rate and more. By creating innovative and inclusive user feedback, users will likely want to engage and interact with new devices and their own data

Effectiveness of the VA System at Providing Wheeled Mobility Devices

A plethora of data has been collected documenting the need for assistive technology. There is little information however about the efficacy, distribution, and impact of assistive technology. Three related studies investigating demographic, cost, and health related quality of life (HRQoL) factors of the provision of wheelchairs and scooters were completed. The first investigated demographic and clinical differences. The second investigated differences in wheelchair costs among Veteran Integrated Service Networks (VISNS) and vendors. The third investigated the relationship between wheelchairs provided by the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and HRQoL. Using a cross-sectional, retrospective study design, three years of data from VHA National Prosthetic Patient and National Patient Care yielding 191,324 observations. Databases, and one year of data from the SF-36V of the Veterans Health Study were merged. Descriptive statistics, t-test, chi-square, ANCOVA, ANOVA, and logistic regression were used to analyze the data. The first study found more evidence for differences between Hispanics and Caucasians than between African Americans and Caucasians. When comparing manual wheelchairs, Hispanics (Odds Ratio=1.7), African Americans (Odds Ratio =1.1), and American Indians & Asians (Odds Ratio =1.6) were more likely than Caucasians to receive depot wheelchairs, and Hispanics were more likely than Caucasians to receive ultralight chairs (Odds Ratio=1.8). When comparing power wheelchairs Hispanics (Odds Ratio=1.6) were more likely than Caucasians to receive custom power chairs. Older veterans were more likely to receive standard depot wheelchairs (p=<.0001) and younger veterans ultralight wheelchairs (p=<.0001). The most frequently prescribed wheelchairs for all diagnoses were the standard manual wheelchair (51%), the lightweight manual wheelchair (15%), and the scooter (14%). The second study found variation in cost by VISN and by vendor. During FY00 and FY01, of the $109 million spent by the VHA to provide over 131,000 wheelchairs and scooters, 7$7,747,405 was considered excessive cost. The third study found veterans who received adjustable, ultralight manual wheelchairs had significantly lower physical function scores, as measured by the SF-36V, and significantly higher mental function, general health, and mental component summary scores than veterans who received nonadjustable, standard manual chairs, when adjusting for clinical and demographic factors