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A guide for assisted living: towards lifehome 21
- Authors:
- BRE, 3DREID RESEARCH, ROYAL INSTITUTE OF BRITISH ARCHITECTS
- Publisher:
- Royal Institute of British Architects
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 96p.
- Place of publication:
- London
As life expectancy increases, traditional arrangements for supporting those with long-term health issues are becoming unsustainable. The assisted living agenda is part of the solution. It is about helping people with chronic health conditions to live active, independent and dignified lives and stimulating new thinking based on contemporary and emerging technologies. Funded by the Technology Strategy Board under the ALIP1 project, this illustrated design guide about assisted living considers the built environment along with the integration of digital infrastructure in homes. It looks in turn at housing standards, ergonomic data, access issues, space standards (including a case study for adapting a typical terraced house), an overview of digital connectivity, and guidance on digital assisted living technologies. The guide is aimed at all those who have to take decisions on the appropriate design, specification, construction and adaptation of ‘assisted living enabled’ buildings, including architects, developers, designers, builders, health care workers, and designers of health care equipment.
Formal modeling techniques for ambient assisted living
- Authors:
- PARENTE Guido, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 36(2), June 2011, pp.192-216.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
In the development of systems of ambient assisted living (AAL), formalized models and analysis techniques can provide a ground that makes development amenable to a systematic approach. The following formal modeling tools and techniques are reviewed in relation to AAL: fault trees, evidential reasoning, evidential ontology networks, temporal logic, hidden Markov models and partially observable Markov models. A number of scenarios are then presented to provide insight on how each technique can match the needs of different types of problem in the application domain.
The ADOPT model: accelerating diffusion of proven technologies for older adults
- Authors:
- WANG Ange, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 36(1), March 2011, pp.29-45.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
Home and community-based technologies have proven to be an effective way of helping older adults improve health outcomes and maintain independence. This article presents a conceptual model of technology diffusion, ADOPT (Accelerating Diffusion of Proven Technologies), which discusses important considerations for diffusing health technologies in home and community-based settings for older adults. At the centre of the ADOPT model is a framework that highlights factors that affect technology adoption and use relevant to older adults, their collaborators, and their context. The model then overlays seven important diffusion strategies that older adults’ collaborators (including technology companies, aging services organizations, formal/informal caregivers, family members, medical providers, insurance companies, and others) can undertake to help facilitate technology diffusion. The goal of this article is to introduce the ADOPT model to guide older adults’ collaborators in achieving greater use of technology, in order to create widespread health outcome improvements and promote independent living for this population.
DALLAS: delivering assisted living lifestyles at scale: SBRI competition for development contracts
- Author:
- TECHNOLOGY STRATEGY BOARD
- Publisher:
- Technology Strategy Board
- Publication year:
- 2011
- Pagination:
- 3p.
- Place of publication:
- Swindon
A total investment of up to £23 million is being made in the UK-wide DALLAS programme (Delivering Assisted Living Lifestyles at Scale). This comprises an £18m investment by the Technology Strategy Board and the National Institute for Health Research, with a further £5m contribution from the Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise and Scottish Enterprise. DALLAS will establish three to five communities of 10,000 people each or more across the UK, of which one will be in Scotland. These will show how assisted living technologies and services can be used to promote wellbeing, and provide top quality health and care, enabling people to live independently – including a preventative approach. This is an open competition commencing on 7 June 2011, with successful projects attracting 100% of public funding and lasting up to 36 months. This document details the funding allocation, the application process, and key dates in the competition.
How personalised technology can play an important role in supporting people with learning disabilities as they age and face the onset of dementia
- Author:
- NICHOLS M
- Journal article citation:
- Journal of Assistive Technologies, 5(3), 2011, pp.158-163.
- Publisher:
- Emerald
HfT is a national learning disability charity. This article reports on its work at Old Quarries, a mix of residential and supported living accommodation in Gloucestershire for people with learning disabilities. The article presents case studies featuring individuals with the onset of dementia who were able to use personalised technology to empower them to live more independently and to remain in their homes rather than being moved into alternative, unfamiliar accommodation. The personalised technology described includes a bedroom door sensor alerting staff when a door is opened, a talking photo album, a fingerprint lock for a front door, and a radio frequency identification device worn by individuals which alerts staff when the wearer is about to move from a lower to a high risk area.
Ethical issues in the use of fall detectors
- Authors:
- GANYO Michelle, DUNN Michael, HOPE Tony
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 31(8), November 2011, pp.1350-1367.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This article explores the ethical issues raised by the use of fall detectors – a form of remote monitoring technology designed to enhance the well-being of adults at risk from falling. The article begins with a description of the fall detection devices currently available and a summary of how these devices carers to respond in particular ways. The ethical issues associated with the use of fall detectors are classified under four headings: autonomy; privacy; benefit; and the use of resources. It is argued that these issues arise out of the nature of the technology itself, and the way that this technology is integrated into the day-to-day support package of the person for whom it is provided. It is suggested that manufacturers have a duty to provide information about the ethical side-effects associated with the use of a particular device, and that the process of making a decision to provide a person with a fall detector should include a checklist of questions designed to enable decision makers to work through the ethical issues raised. Implications for practice are discussed.
Older adults, falls and technologies for independent living: a life space approach
- Authors:
- BAILEY Cathy, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 31(5), July 2011, pp.829-848.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
This paper aims to further understand routines which lead to falling in older adults, and how new technology might be used to provide unobtrusive support in independent living. A small study was conducted in Ireland with eight community-dwelling older adults with varying experiences of falls or fear-of-falls. Data were collected through weekly life-space diaries, daily-activity logs, two-dimensional house plans and a pedometer. Findings revealed that, for some participants, daily activities and movements led to potentially risky behaviour about which they had been unaware, which may have implications for falls-prevention advice, and technology design. Four key themes were also uncovered, which are discussed: being pragmatic; not just a faller; heightened awareness and blind spots; and working with technology. In conclusion, the study highlighted a need to think creatively about how technological and other solutions best fit with people's everyday challenges and needs.
Use of the global positioning system to measure the out-of-home mobility of older adults with differing cognitive functioning
- Authors:
- SHOVAL Noam, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing and Society, 31(5), July 2011, pp.849-869.
- Publisher:
- Cambridge University Press
To date, the assessment of outdoor mobility of cognitively impaired older adults relied on the reports of family care-givers and institutional staff and used observational approaches. This study aimed to find the usefulness of high-resolution data gathering using a global positioning system (GPS) device attached to 41 mildly demented, mildly cognitively impaired and healthy men and women aged 64–90 years in Tel-Aviv Israel. The participants were tracked for 28 consecutive days using a location kit that combined a GPS with radio frequency identification. The high-resolution spatial and temporal data enabled detailed analysis of the differences in the timing and distance of the participants' daily outdoor mobility patterns. It was found that the spatial range of the mobility of elderly people with cognitive impairment is severely restricted, with most out-of-home time spent in close proximity to their residences. Men were generally more mobile than women and younger participants generally spent more time out-of-home. Although this study was qualitative in nature, the authors concluded that GPS was an advanced research tool able to better record mobility in the study group than other available methods.
Using Photovoice with people with early-stage Alzheimer’s disease: a discussion of methodology
- Author:
- WIERSMA Elaine C.
- Journal article citation:
- Dementia: the International Journal of Social Research and Practice, 10(2), May 2011, pp.203-216.
- Publisher:
- Sage
Academics have questioned the approach to doing research ‘on’ people with Alzheimer’s disease, preferring a more participatory approach that researches ‘with’ them. This paper examined Photovoice, a new inclusive methodology that involved giving cameras to participants to record and document their experiences in ways that can create change. The goals of Photovoice are threefold: to enable people to record and reflect their communities strengths and concerns; to promote critical dialogue and knowledge about important community issues through group discussions about photographs; and to reach policy makers. A group of 4 participants in early stages Alzheimer’s disease participated in the use of Photovoice. In understanding how Photovoice could be used with this group, and examining the benefits and challenges of using it with people with Alzheimer’s disease, the paper discusses some of the practical challenges arising out of using this methodology with people as well as some of the issues surrounding research ethics, consent, and capacity.
Privacy, technology, and aging: a proposed framework
- Authors:
- LORENZEN-HUBER Lesa, et al
- Journal article citation:
- Ageing International, 36(2), 2011, pp.232-252.
- Publisher:
- Springer
- Place of publication:
- New York
The purpose of this study was to develop a privacy framework that could inform the development, adoption, and use of home-based technologies for older adults. A five-part privacy framework was developed and then tested through a qualitative exploration of older adults’ perceptions. Focus-group sessions were conducted with 64 community-dwelling older adults. Transcriptions were analyzed using a grounded-theory approach. Participants’ concerns about privacy were more contextualized than the previously defined framework. Factors that influenced perceptions of privacy were identified as perceived usefulness, the importance of social relationships, data granularity, and the sensitivity of activities. Data analysis and gerontological theory was then used to develop a new framework. It is concluded that older people's perception of risk that may be less than actual risk, and that technologies should enable user-centered transparent data control.