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FIRST INTERNATIONAL SOCIETY FOR
GERONTECHNOLOGY
MASTERCLASS IN GERONTECHNOLOGY
TUE, EINDHOVEN, NL MAY 22-23 2006
METHODOLOGIES IN CARE SUPPORT STUDIES
James L. Fozard, Ph.D.
School of Aging Studies
University of South Florida
Tampa, FL 33260
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Care support and organization-1
• Care support and organization--use of
technology for self-care by elderly
persons with physical limitations or by
caregivers—often elderly themselves—
of elderly persons with disabilities.
Care support and organization-2
• Technological support of care-giving
activities include
– devices that lift and move physically disabled
persons,
– machines that administer and monitor the use of
medications, and
– equipment that provides information about
physiological functioning.
Such products are used increasingly in the home by
nonprofessionals, e.g., family caregivers.
The ergonomics of such equipment becomes
increasingly important as the range of users
increases.
Care support and organization-3
• Aid to caregivers usually falls under the public
health rubrics of tertiary or secondary
prevention.
• Mann and colleagues demonstrated the cost
effectiveness of multiple technological devices in
prolonging life and improving it in very impaired
elderly patients. In comparison to a usual
treatment group, the availability of the
technologies was reduced the amount of nursing
and institutional care.
•
Mann, W.C. et al. Effectiveness of assistive technology and environmental
interventions in maintaining independence and reducing home care costs for
the frail elderly: A randomized trial. Arch. Family Med. 1999, 8, 210-217.
Person-Machine Communication
used in Care and Organization
• Robot ‘Pearl’ reminds patients in ALF of
medical appointments, accompanies them
on slow walk and verbally responds to
some questions
• Cellular telephone used to reveal location
of dementia patient to caregiver; could
also provide message, e.g., “Turn around,
face house, enter house.”
• Robotic surrogate animals
Conclusions
• Care support technology derives mostly
from medical and nursing services
provided in institutional settings
• Future extension of the concept to home
settings involves
– Exploration of human to machine
communication possibilities
– Exploration of the comfort value of machines
to human users