Suchergebnisse

Purpose Wandering is aimless or repetitive locomotion that may expose persons with dementia to falls, injuries, elopement, and untimely death. Using data from focus groups, this study obtained opinions on the potential effectiveness of existing technologies for managing wandering in persons with dementia living in the community, and on the elements that such technologies should possess from the user's perspective. Design & Methods Cross-disciplinary, consensus-based analysis was applied to data from 6 focus groups consisting of 7 elderly nursing home residents, 7 caregivers of persons with dementia, 9 home healthcare staff, 7 long term care staff, 7 medical surgical staff caring for dementia patients, and 6 engineers working in rehabilitation settings. Each group received a briefing on available technology for wanderer monitoring systems and elopement management systems. Results Participants in all groups wanted flexible systems that would allow for a normal daily life, accommodate to changes over time, and be inexpensive. Inside the home, motion detectors and weight-sensitive mats by doors were preferred over camouflage and other visual deterrents; outside, Global Positioning System based elopement management was preferred. For both technologies, ranges and sensitivities must be programmable and changeable as environmental and human conditions warrant. Policy Implications 60% or more of the 4.5 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease will wander and wandering predicts nursing home entry. The need for effective technologies to manage wandering in home and formal care settings is underscored by the high cost of nursing home care on the caregiver, his or her family, and government healthcare organizations. These technologies promise to delay nursing home entry and improve care but they must perform reliably, simply, effectively and inexpensively.

Purpose Wandering is aimless or repetitive locomotion that may expose persons with dementia to falls, injuries, elopement, and untimely death. Using data from focus groups, this study obtained opinions on the potential effectiveness of existing technologies for managing wandering in persons with dementia living in the community, and on the elements that such technologies should possess from the user's perspective. Design & Methods Cross-disciplinary, consensus-based analysis was applied to data from 6 focus groups consisting of 7 elderly nursing home residents, 7 caregivers of persons with dementia, 9 home healthcare staff, 7 long term care staff, 7 medical surgical staff caring for dementia patients, and 6 engineers working in rehabilitation settings. Each group received a briefing on available technology for wanderer monitoring systems and elopement management systems. Results Participants in all groups wanted flexible systems that would allow for a normal daily life, accommodate to changes over time, and be inexpensive. Inside the home, motion detectors and weight-sensitive mats by doors were preferred over camouflage and other visual deterrents; outside, Global Positioning System based elopement management was preferred. For both technologies, ranges and sensitivities must be programmable and changeable as environmental and human conditions warrant. Policy Implications 60% or more of the 4.5 million Americans with Alzheimer's disease will wander and wandering predicts nursing home entry. The need for effective technologies to manage wandering in home and formal care settings is underscored by the high cost of nursing home care on the caregiver, his or her family, and government healthcare organizations. These technologies promise to delay nursing home entry and improve care but they must perform reliably, simply, effectively and inexpensively.

Background: The demand for care is increasing, whereas in the near future the number of people working in professional care will not match with the demand for care. eHealth technology can help to meet the growing demand for care. Despite the apparent positive effects of eHealth technology, there are still barriers to technology adoption related to the absence of a composite set of knowledge and skills among health care professionals regarding the use of eHealth technology. Objective: The objective of this paper is to discuss the competencies required by health care professionals working in home care, with eHealth technologies such as remote telecare and ambient assisted living (AAL), mobile health, and fall detection systems. Methods: A two-day collaborative workshop was undertaken with academics across multiple disciplines with experience in working on funded research regarding the application and development of technologies to support older people. Results: The findings revealed that health care professionals working in home care require a subset of composite skills as well as technology-specific competencies to develop the necessary aptitude in eHealth care. This paper argues that eHealth care technology skills must be instilled in health care professionals to ensure that technologies become integral components of future care delivery, especially to support older adults to age in place. Educating health care professionals with the necessary skill training in eHealth care will improve service delivery and optimise the eHealth care potential to reduce costs by improving efficiency. Moreover, embedding eHealth care competencies within training and education for health care professionals ensures that the benefits of new technologies are realized by casting them in the context of the larger system of care. These care improvements will potentially support the independent living of older persons at home. Conclusions: This paper describes the health care professionals' competencies and requirements needed for the use of eHealth technologies to support elderly adults to age in place. In addition, this paper underscores the need for further discussion of the changing role of health care professionals working in home care within the context of emerging eHealth care technologies. The findings are of value to local and central government, health care professionals, service delivery organizations, and commissioners of care to use this paper as a framework to conduct and develop competencies for health care professionals working with eHealth technologies.

Background: The demand for care is increasing, whereas in the near future the number of people working in professional care will not match with the demand for care. eHealth technology can help to meet the growing demand for care. Despite the apparent positive effects of eHealth technology, there are still barriers to technology adoption related to the absence of a composite set of knowledge and skills among health care professionals regarding the use of eHealth technology. Objective: The objective of this paper is to discuss the competencies required by health care professionals working in home care, with eHealth technologies such as remote telecare and ambient assisted living (AAL), mobile health, and fall detection systems. Methods: A two-day collaborative workshop was undertaken with academics across multiple disciplines with experience in working on funded research regarding the application and development of technologies to support older people. Results: The findings revealed that health care professionals working in home care require a subset of composite skills as well as technology-specific competencies to develop the necessary aptitude in eHealth care. This paper argues that eHealth care technology skills must be instilled in health care professionals to ensure that technologies become integral components of future care delivery, especially to support older adults to age in place. Educating health care professionals with the necessary skill training in eHealth care will improve service delivery and optimise the eHealth care potential to reduce costs by improving efficiency. Moreover, embedding eHealth care competencies within training and education for health care professionals ensures that the benefits of new technologies are realized by casting them in the context of the larger system of care. These care improvements will potentially support the independent living of older persons at home. Conclusions: This paper describes the health care professionals' competencies and requirements needed for the use of eHealth technologies to support elderly adults to age in place. In addition, this paper underscores the need for further discussion of the changing role of health care professionals working in home care within the context of emerging eHealth care technologies. The findings are of value to local and central government, health care professionals, service delivery organizations, and commissioners of care to use this paper as a framework to conduct and develop competencies for health care professionals working with eHealth technologies.