A sensor platform for non-invasive remote monitoring of older adults in real time

The population of older adults is increasing across the globe; this growth is predicted to continue into the future. Most older adults prefer to live in their own home, but many live alone without immediate support. Living longer is often coupled with health and social problems and difficulty managing daily activities. Therefore, some level of care is required, but this is costly. Technological solutions may help to mitigate these problems by recognising subtle changes early and intervening before problems become unmanageable. Understanding a personâ s usual behaviour when carrying out Activities of Daily Living (ADL) makes it possible to detect and respond to anomalies. However, current commercial and research monitoring systems do not offer an analysis of ADL and are unable to detect subtle changes. To address this gap, we propose the STRETCH (Socio-Technical Resilience for Enhancing Targeted Community Healthcare) sensor platform that is comprised of non-invasive sensors and machine learning techniques to recognise changes and allow early interventions. The paper discusses design principles, modalities, system architecture, and sensor network architecture

Parental Influence and the Attraction to Physical Activity for Youths who are Visually Impaired at a Residential–Day School

The study reported here investigated social influences on the attraction to physical activity and perceptions of physical competence among youths with visual impairments. Specifically, what is the perceived influence that parents and peers have on attraction to physical activity among children who are visually impaired? Various predictors of children\u27s physical activity-related beliefs and involvement were examined among children with visual impairments with particular reference to parental and peer forms of influence. Research has supported the view that parental and peer beliefs and behaviors are related to the interests of sighted children in physical activity, but little research has examined predictors and patterns of interest and involvement in physical activity among children who are visually impaired