Enhancing care homes with assistive video technology for distributed caregiving

Dementia care is becoming increasingly important in Japan as the elderly population grows. Care homes are designed so that caregivers can easily observe and subsequently respond to the needs of people with dementia. However, the layout of care homes can become overly restrictive for residents, for example, by not providing intermediate spaces where people can spontaneously interact and initiate conversations. We present a case study that explores the implementation of video monitoring in two purpose-built care homes in which we were asked to help overcome the blind spots presented by the layout. We collected data both before and after the implementation of the video monitoring in order to understand its effect. The balance between people’s sense of security and the concerns about loss of privacy through video monitoring is well established. However, we found that video monitoring had a beneficial effect on both the caregivers and the residents if implemented sensitively. Furthermore, the implementation of video monitoring could support the design of more beneficial care home layouts. In conclusion, we propose that the sensitive implementation of video monitoring be considered alongside design of the physical layout of care homes

Ageing in place and the internet of things – how smart home technologies, the built environment and caregiving intersect

© 2018, The Author(s). Smart technologies and the Internet of Things (IoT), have the potential to play a significant role in enabling older people to age in place. Although there has been substantial development of new applications of sensor technology in the home, this has tended to be tele-health focused, and there has been less work done on the role of IoT and ageing in place that more broadly considers caregiving and the built environment. Research in the field of IoT development and evaluation has recognised a number of challenges and limitations associated with past smart technology developments to support Ageing in Place, calling for user centeredness and better integration with broader systems. Compounding this, research into Ageing in Place and home environments has focused on built environments and largely ignored the impact of technology in the lives of older people staying at home. Recognising a gap in acknowledging the potential impact of technology on Ageing in Place theories, the purpose of this paper is to conceptualise a way of framing smart technology within an Ageing in Place model that acknowledges the interaction of smart technology with the built environment and caregiving and to present a framework for visualising the interactions that take place. A review of Environmental Gerontology model development is undertaken and a new model is presented that recognises the role of technology in Ageing in Place. Based on this model, a template is developed and three case studies of older people’s experiences of smart home technology, home modifications and caregiving are mapped out. These are used to demonstrate “proof of concept” of the relationships put forward in the HAST model and the pre-curser for a template to help people map smart technology and its role in supporting caregiving and ageing in place. This paper’s position is that technologies such as IoT further support the role of the built environment and caregiving to produce outcomes that enable older people to remain autonomous, independent, safe and well at home. However, a number of risks were also identified through the case studies, the issues of maintenance, cost and ease of use, and willingness to use are considerations and potential barriers to the benefits of smart technology

When technology cares for people with dementia:A critical review using neuropsychological rehabilitation as a conceptual framework

Clinicians and researchers have become increasingly interested in the potential of technology in assisting persons with dementia (PwD). However, several issues have emerged in relation to how studies have conceptualized who the main technology user is (PwD/carer), how technology is used (as compensatory, environment modification, monitoring or retraining tool), why it is used (i.e., what impairments and/or disabilities are supported) and what variables have been considered as relevant to support engagement with technology. In this review we adopted a Neuropsychological Rehabilitation perspective to analyse 253 studies reporting on technological solutions for PwD. We analysed purposes/uses, supported impairments and disabilities and how engagement was considered. Findings showed that the most frequent purposes of technology use were compensation and monitoring, supporting orientation, sequencing complex actions and memory impairments in a wide range of activities. The few studies that addressed the issue of engagement with technology considered how the ease of use, social appropriateness, level of personalization, dynamic adaptation and carers' mediation allowed technology to adapt to PWD's and carers' preferences and performance. Conceptual and methodological tools emerged as outcomes of the analytical process, representing an important contribution to understanding the role of technologies to increase PwD's wellbeing and orient future research.University of Huddersfield, under grants URF301-01 and URF506-01

“I Don’t Want to Become a Number’’: Examining Different Stakeholder Perspectives on a Video-Based Monitoring System for Senior Care with Inherent Privacy Protection (by Design)

Active and Assisted Living (AAL) technologies aim to enhance the quality of life of older adults and promote successful aging. While video-based AAL solutions offer rich capabilities for better healthcare management in older age, they pose significant privacy risks. To mitigate the risks, we developed a video-based monitoring system that incorporates different privacy-preserving filters. We deployed the system in one assistive technology center and conducted a qualitative study with older adults and other stakeholders involved in care provision. Our study demonstrates diverse users’ perceptions and experiences with video-monitoring technology and offers valuable insights for the system’s further development. The findings unpack the privacy-versus-safety trade-off inherent in video-based technologies and discuss how the privacy-preserving mechanisms within the system mitigate privacy-related concerns. The study also identifies varying stakeholder perspectives towards the system in general and highlights potential avenues for developing video-based monitoring technologies in the AAL context.This work was funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 861091 for the visuAAL project. This publication is based upon work from COST Action GoodBrother—Network on Privacy-Aware Audio- and Video-Based Applications for Active and Assisted Living (CA19121), supported by COST (European Cooperation in Science and Technology)

Robotic devices and ICT in long-term care in Japan: Their potential and limitations from a workplace perspective

In light of its rapidly aging society, Japan is pressured to full-heartedly address the labor shortage in long-term care. Among the various policy options currently in discussion, government agencies and business sector representatives agree that robotic devices and information and communication technology (ICT) constitute a suitable countermeasure. However, during our research in Japan in 2019, we found that robotic devices and ICT are only reluctantly being introduced into long-term care facilities. Based on our field visits and interviews as well as supplementary document research, this paper discusses the potential that facility managers ascribe to robotic devices and ICT when it comes to alleviating the labor shortage in the long-term care institutions they run. Of particular interest is the question to what degree the usage of robotic devices and ICT could reduce the physical hardships and mental stress that staff in long-term caregiving experience. This paper will further our understanding of the labor situation in long-term care facilities and contribute to the research field of robotic devices and ICT in Japan’s labor market

To Use or Not to Use: The Design, Implementation and Acceptance of Technology in the Context of Health Care

Technology in general, and assistive technology in particular, is considered to be a promising opportunity to address the challenges of an aging population. Nevertheless, in health care, technology is not as widely used as could be expected. In this chapter, an overview is given of theories and models that help to understand this phenomenon. First, the design of (assistive) technologies will be addressed and the importance of human-centered design in the development of new assistive devices will be discussed. Also theories and models are addressed about technology acceptance in general. Specific attention will be given to technology acceptance in healthcare professionals, and the implementation of technology within healthcare organizations. The chapter will be based on the state of the art of scientific literature and will be illustrated with examples from our research in daily practice considering the different perspectives of involved stakeholders

How can autonomy be maintained and informal care improved for people with dementia living in residential care facilities: A systematic literature review

Background and objectives: For people with dementia living in residential care facilities, maintaining autonomy and receiving informal care are important. The objective of this review is to understand how caregiving approaches and physical environment, including technologies contribute to the maintenance of autonomy and informal care provision for this population. Research design and method: A literature review of peer-reviewed articles published between January 1995 and July 2017 was performed. Realist logic of analysis was used, involving context, mechanism and outcome configurations. Results: Forty-nine articles were included. The improvement of the relationship between residents and formal/informal caregivers is important. This increases the knowledge (sharing) about the resident and contributes to their autonomy. A social, flexible, and welcoming attitude of the formal caregiver improves the provision of informal care. Specially designed spaces, for instance, therapeutic gardens, create activities for residents that remind them of themselves and contribute to their autonomy. Use of technologies reduces caregiver's time for primary tasks and therefore enables secondary tasks such as interaction with the residents. Discussion and implications: The results revealed how residential care facilities could maintain autonomy of their residents and improve informal care delivery using caregiving approaches and the physical environment including technologies. The results are supporting toward each other in maintaining autonomy and also helped in enhancing informal care provision. For residential care facilities that want to maintain the autonomy of their residents and improve informal care delivery, it is important to pay attention to all aspects of living in a residential care facility

Opportunities in Mental Health Support for Informal Dementia Caregivers Suffering from Verbal Agitation

People with dementia (PwD) often present verbal agitation such as cursing, screaming, and persistently complaining. Verbal agitation can impose mental distress on informal caregivers (e.g., family, friends), which may cause severe mental illnesses, such as depression and anxiety disorders. To improve informal caregivers' mental health, we explore design opportunities by interviewing 11 informal caregivers suffering from verbal agitation of PwD. In particular, we first characterize how the predictability of verbal agitation impacts informal caregivers' mental health and how caregivers' coping strategies vary before, during, and after verbal agitation. Based on our findings, we propose design opportunities to improve the mental health of informal caregivers suffering from verbal agitation: distracting PwD (in-situ support; before), prompting just-in-time maneuvers (information support; during), and comfort and education (social & information support; after). We discuss our reflections on cultural disparities between participants. Our work envisions a broader design space for supporting informal caregivers' well-being and describes when and how that support could be provided.Comment: 26 pages, 1 figure, 2 tables. Accepted to PACM HCI (CSCW 2024

Hardware for recognition of human activities: a review of smart home and AAL related technologies

Activity recognition (AR) from an applied perspective of ambient assisted living (AAL) and smart homes (SH) has become a subject of great interest. Promising a better quality of life, AR applied in contexts such as health, security, and energy consumption can lead to solutions capable of reaching even the people most in need. This study was strongly motivated because levels of development, deployment, and technology of AR solutions transferred to society and industry are based on software development, but also depend on the hardware devices used. The current paper identifies contributions to hardware uses for activity recognition through a scientific literature review in the Web of Science (WoS) database. This work found four dominant groups of technologies used for AR in SH and AAL—smartphones, wearables, video, and electronic components—and two emerging technologies: Wi-Fi and assistive robots. Many of these technologies overlap across many research works. Through bibliometric networks analysis, the present review identified some gaps and new potential combinations of technologies for advances in this emerging worldwide field and their uses. The review also relates the use of these six technologies in health conditions, health care, emotion recognition, occupancy, mobility, posture recognition, localization, fall detection, and generic activity recognition applications. The above can serve as a road map that allows readers to execute approachable projects and deploy applications in different socioeconomic contexts, and the possibility to establish networks with the community involved in this topic. This analysis shows that the research field in activity recognition accepts that specific goals cannot be achieved using one single hardware technology, but can be using joint solutions, this paper shows how such technology works in this regard